GL 


Solitary  Places  Made  GlaD: 


BEING 

OBSERVATIONS  AND  EXPERIENCES  FOR  THIRTY- 
TWO  YEARS  IN  NEBRASKA; 

WITH 

SKETCHES  AND  INCIDENTS  TOUCHING  THE  DIS- 
COVERY, EARLY  SETTLEMENT,  AND 
DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
STATE. 


BY  THE 

RKV.  HKNRY  ^.  DAVIS, 

OF   THE  NEBRASKA    CONFERENCE. 


The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them ; 
and  the  desert  shall  rejoice,   and  blossom   as  the  rose. 

—Isaiah  xxxv,  i. 


cincinnati : 

Printed  for  the  Author  by  Cranston  &  Stowe. 

1890. 


'RESERVATION 
;OPY  ADDED 


Copyright  by 

HENRY  T.  DAVIS, 

1890. 


Q^-^  <(  /^(MAOvHy  i  'J/M^ 


*Fo  fl)e  lT}ir)isfePS  ar)d  fl)eip  Ranjilies, 

who  have  been,  and  are  now, 

engaged  in  laying  the  foundations  and  building  up  the 

Church  of  Christ  on  the  frontier,  is  this 

book  dedicated  by 

THE  AUTHOR. 


M564422 


PREFACE. 


SOME  time  before  his  death,  the  late  Dr. 
W.  B.  Slaughter  had  in  contemplation  the 
writing  of  a  book  on  Nebraska.  He  requested 
me,  as  I  was  one  of  the  first  pioneers,  to  furnish 
him  material  touching  the  early  settlement  of 
the  Territory.  The  request  was  complied  with, 
and  a  limited  amount  furnished.  He  afterward 
said:  "You  have  not  furnished  me  the  tithe  of 
what  I  expected;  I  shall  expect  a  great  deal 
more  from  you.''  Soon  after  this  remark  he  was 
called  to  his  heavenly  home. 

Later,  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the 
Nebraska  Conference  said  to  me :  "  You  owe  it  to 
the  Church  and  posterity  to  leave  in  permanent 
form  your  early  experiences  and  observations 
in  Nebraska."  A  leading  pastor  in  a  sister 
denomination  of  the  State  suggested  the  same 
thing,  and  similar  suggestions  have  been  made 
by  others.  These  remarks  impressed  me  with 
the  thought  that  perhaps   I  did  owe  it  to  the 


6  PREFACE. 

Church    and    the    world    to    follow    out    their 
suggestions;   hence  this  volume. 

I  give  this  unpretentious  book  to  the  world, 
earnestly  praying  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
every  one  who  may  chance  to  read  its  pages. 
If  it  shall  be  the  means,  in  the  hands  of  God, 
of  leading  a  soul  to  Christ,  or  a  believer  up  to  a 
higher  plane  of  religious  experience  or  to  more 
active  service  for  the  Master,  my  labor  shall  not 
be  in  vain. 

H.  T.  DAVIS. 

Lincoln,  Nebraska,  June  4,  1890. 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  I. 

THE    "great    AMERICAN   DESERT "    A    MYTH. 

Early  Views  of  the  West — The  Sahara  of  the  United 
States  disappears  before  the  March  of  Civiliza- 
tion,   Page  15 

Chapter  II. 

DISCOVERY  OF    NEBRASKA. 

Coronado's  Expedition  in  1540-41 — De  Soto  discovers  the 
Mississippi — Father  Marquette  and  La  Salle — Nebraska 
twice  owned  by  Spain,  and  twice  by  France — Ceded 
to  the  United  States  in  1803 — Organized  as  a  Territory 
in  1854— Admitted  as  a  State  in  1867— Prosperity,  .  26 

Chapter  III. 

TOPOGRAPHY    AND    RESOURCES   OF    NEBRASKA. 

Position — Area — Elevation  —  Climate —  Soil —  Resources — 
Intelligence  of  the  People, 38 

Chapter  IV. 

CALIFORNIA   GOLD    EXCITEMENT   IN   1848-50. 

Gold  discoverd — Anxious  to  go — "Outfit"  obtained — 
Farewell  to  Friends — Trip  from  South  Bend  to  Old 
Fort  Kearney  —  Perilous  Passage  -over  the  "Big 
Muddy  "—First  Night  in  Nebraska— Beautiful  Scene,  46 

7 


o  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  V. 

ACROSS   THE   PLAINS. 

Old  Fort  Kearney— Nebraska  City— Platte  River  —  In- 
dians —  New  Fort  Kearney  —  Wolves  —  Midnight 
Alarm  —  Chimney  Rock — Court-house  Rock  — BufFa- 
loes— Sweet  Water— Summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains- 
Green  River— Bear  River— Humboldt— Desert— Car- 
son River — Summit  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas— Journey 
Ended, Page  56 

Chapter  VI. 

CALIFORNIA   IN    1850-52. 

Disappointed  Gold-seekers — Long  Illness — Doctor-bill — 
Wickedness  Rampant — Lynch-law — Summary  Punish- 
ment the  Palladium  of  the  People — Vigilance  Com- 
mittees—  Bold  Robery — The  Victim  [captured  and 
hung, 83 

Chapter  VII. 

RETURN   HOME   BY   WAY    OF   THE   ISTHMUS. 

San  Francisco — San  Diego — "Wonders  of  the  Deep" — 
Acapulco  —  Terrible  Storm  —  Panama  —  Crossing  the 
Isthmus — From  Aspinwall  to  New  York — Home,  .  94 

Chapter  VIII. 

PERSONAL   RECOLLECTIONS. 

Memorable  City  and  Church — John  Brownfield — David 
Stover  —  Conversion  —  Parental  Influence  —  Call  to 
Preach  —  Attend  Asbury  University  —  Licensed  to 
Preach — Join  Conference — First  Circuit— Second  Cir- 
cuit —  Two  Gracious  Revivals  —  First  Convert's 
Triumphant  Death  —  Ordained  Deacon  —  Bishop 
Waugh, 108 


CONTENTS.  y 

Chaptkr  IX. 

ATTENTION   TURNED   TO   THE   WEST. 

Fascinations  of  the  West— Belle vue  Mission  offered  Us— 
Acceptance — Adieu  to  Friends — We  reach  St.  Louis — 
Up  the  *'  Big  Muddy  "—Arrive  in  Omaha,    .  Page  122 

Chapter  X. 

THE   PIONEER   EVANGEL. 

Methodism  Cosmopolitan — Missionaries  sent  to  Oregon 
in  1834 — Planning  to  capture  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
for  Christ — The  Territories  organized— The  Bishops 
send  out  W.  H.  Goode  as  a  Scout — Our  Saperintend- 
ency  an  Element  of  Power— Kansas  and  Nebraska 
Conference  organized — Quantrell  burns  the  City  of 
Lawrence — Second  Conference — Bishop  Ames  and  Dr. 
Poe  on  the  Missouri  River — A  Heroine — A  Sermon 
instead  of  a  Dance — The  Third  Conference,  .   .   .  128 

Chapter  XI. 

FIRST    WORK    IN  NEBRASKA. 

Crude  Ideas  of  Nebraska — Bellevue— Story  of  a  Diamond — 
How  the  People  viewed  Us — Hunting  for  a  Town 
without  Houses — First  Sermon  in  Nebraska — Wild 
Speculation — Its  Demoralizing  Effects — First  Quarter- 
age received— Glad  of  Green  Pumpkins — Thankful 
for  Potatoes  and  Salt — Hospitality  of  Friends,   .   .  147 

Chapter  XII. 


When  Founded — Indian  Tradition  of  the  Name — Amusing 
and  Thrilling  Incidents — George  Francis  Train — Moving 
in  an  Ox-wagon — Indians — First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church — Ride  on   Horseback  Two  Hundred  Miles  to 


10  CONTENTS. 

Conference  —  Falls   City  in    1860— John    Brown— The 
Conference  divided, Page  163 

Chapter  XIII. 

FIRST   NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE. 

Members — Statistics — "  Crowned  Ones  " — Martyr  Spirit 
Still  in  the  Church — Nebraska  City  District  in  1861 — 
A  Fearful  Ride  in  the  Cold— Popgun  Elder— S.  P. 
Majors  —  Bellevue  Conference  —  Bishop  Simpson — 
Crossing  the  Platte  in  a  Skiff — Laura  Beatty — An  Aw- 
ful Tragedy — A  Death-bed  Repentance, 182 

Chapter  XIV. 

CIVIL   WAR    INCIDENTS. 

The  Dark  Cloud — The  Rainbow  of  Promise — National 
Prosperity — "  Jayhawkers  " — Ordered  to  Halt — Camp- 
meeting  near  Falls  City — Bloody  Fray — Dave  Stephen- 
son,   206 

Chapter  XV. 

LINCOLN. 

Location  —  Salt  Basins  —  First  Settlers  —  Indians  —  First 
Sermon  in  the  County — Elder  Young — Lancaster — 
Visit  to  the  New  Town — Act  providing  for  the  Change 
of  the  Capital — Lot  Sales — First  Legislature  in  the 
New  Capitol — First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — 
Other  Churches, 212 

Chapter  XVI. 

ONE  OF   THE   EARLY   PIONEERS. 

Rev.  Z.  B.  Turman,  the  First  Preacher  in  Lancaster 
County — Salt  Creek  Circuit — Great  Revival — Coon- 
meat— Preaching  to  "  Spotted  Horse  "  and  His  War- 
riors—The Captive  Squaw  and  Her  Sad  Fate— A  Mush- 


CONTENTS.  11 

and-milk   Tea— Indian    Troubles— The    "New    Ulm 
Massacre," Page  231 

Chapter  XVII. 

DISTRICT  INCIDENTS. 

Eleventh  Nebraska  Conference— Bishop  Ames— Old  Ser- 
mons—U.  P.  R.  R.  completed — Rapid  Growth  of  the 
Church — Hastings — Overtaken  in  a  Fearful  Storm — 
Three  Memorable  Quarterly  Meetings — Sad  Death  of 
a  Worldling— The  Dutchman's  Curse— The  Confused 
Hostess — No  Desire  to  Dance, 244 

Chapter  XVIII. 

FURTHER  ACCOUNT   OF   DISTRICT   WORK. 

Marvelous  Growth — Privations  and  Toils  of  the  Preach- 
ers—The Christmas-box— Touching  Incident — Confer- 
ence of  1873 — Bishop  Andrews— Conference  of  1874 — 
Bishop  Bowman — Dr.  J.  M.  Reid — Conference  of  1875 — 
Bishop  Gilbert  Haven— His  TriumphanttOeath— Rev. 
George  Worley, .,  -  269 

Chapter  XIX. 

THN    SAME  SUBJECT    CONTINUED. 

Appointed  to  Omaha  District — Columbus — Osceola — Ris- 
ing City— David  City — The  Work  in  Omaha— Confer- 
ence at  Falls  City — Bishop  Foster — Appointed  the 
Second  Time  to  Nebraska  City  District— A  Remark- 
able Meeting— West  Nebraska  Mission  formed— Dr. 
T.  B.  Lemon— Division  of  the  Conference,   ....  287 

Chapter  XX. 

QRAgSHOPPEK   INCIDENTS. 

Their  Origin — Depredations  in  all  Ages— An  Atheist  re- 
nounces His  Atheism— Wonderful  Answers  to  Prayer— 


12  CONTENTS. 

A  Touching  Incident — Another  Atheist  changed— 
Annie  Wittenmyer  —  Assistance  from  the  East — 
Mrs.  M.  E.  Roberts  —  Reflex  Influence  of  Work 
done  for  Others  —  Man's  Weakness  and  God's 
Power, Page  298 


Chapter  XXI. 

BEATRICE. 

Location — Founded  in  1857 — Emigrants  on  a  Missouri 
Steamer  organize  a  Colony — Beatrice  in  1661 — Albert 
Towle  —  Governor  Butler — First  Homestead  —  First 
Methodist  Preacher — First  Quarterly  Meeting — In- 
dians— Terrible  Massacre  —The  Great  Change,    .   .  319 

Chapter  XXII. 

YORK. 

Location — First  Settlers — First  Grave  in  the  County — 
Methodist  Class  organized — David  Baker — Buffaloes 
invade  the  County — Friendship  of  the  Early  Set- 
tlers— W.  E.  Morgan — First  Quarterly  Meeting— Other 
Churches — Appointed  to  York  Station  1883— Great 
Revival— The  Little  Girl  and  the  Dark  Cloud— Second 
Year — Another  Great  Revival — The  New  Church — 
Subscription— Third  Year— Church  completed- Dedi- 
cation by  Bishop  Warren, 332 

Chapter  XXIII. 

METHODIST   EDUCATION   IN   NEBRASKA   UNIFIED. 

Methodist  Schools  in  Nebraska  During  the  Past — The 
Nebraska  Wesleyan  University, 352 


CONTENTS.  13 

Chapter  XXIV. 

Methodism's  distinctive  doctrine  revived. 

What  the  Doctrine  is — The  Great    Revival— History  of 
the  Bennett  Camp -meeting, Page  373 

Chapter  XXV. 
The  Distinctive  Doctrine  Examined, 398 


Solitary  Places  made  Glad. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  "GREAT  AMERICAN  DESERT"  A  MYTH. 

Early  Views  of  the  West — The  Sahara  of  the  United 
States  disappears  before  the  March  of  Civiliza- 
tion. 

THE  waters  of  the  Missouri  River,  on  the  west, 
Avere  once  supposed  to  wash  a  country  unin- 
habitable by  civilized  men.  This  country  was 
thought  to  be  a  vast  sandy  plain,  stretching  away 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  with  but  here  and  there 
a  shrub  and  spire  of  grass,  and  wholly  unsuscep- 
tible of  cultivation. 

In  the  earlier  history  of  our  country  the  '^  Great 
American  Desert "  was  considered  about  the  same 
in  extent  as  the  Sahara  of  Africa ;  and  it  is  really 
amusing  to  read  the  opinions  held,  only  a  few 
years  ago,  by  some  of  our  best  geographical 
writers  touching  the  territory  of  which  Nebraska 
is  now  a  part. 

In  1793,  Jedediah  Morse  published  his  "Uni- 
versal Geography/^  and  in  this  work  he  gives  the 
most  advanced  knowledge  of  his  time   touching 

15 


16  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

the  interior  of  the  North  American  continent. 
An  extract  or  two  will  indicate  the  extent  and 
accuracy  of  his  knowledge.  Much  of  his  informa- 
tion was  derived  from  the  Indians.  He  says: 
"From  the  best  accounts  that  can  be  obtained 
from  the  Indians,  we  learn  that  the  four  most 
capital  rivers  of  the  continent  of  North  America — 
namely,  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Mississippi,  the 
River  Bourbon  [the  Missouri],  and  the  Oregon, 
or  River  of  the  West — have  their  sources  in  the 
same  neighborhood.^' 

Touching  the  nature  of  the  country  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  he  says :  *'  It  has  been  supposed 
that  all  settlers  who  go  beyond  the  Mississippi 
will  be  forever  lost  to  the  United  States." 

When  the  United  States  proposed  to  purchase 
from  France  the  Louisiana  territory,  some  of  our 
ablest  statesmen  seemed  to  know  but  little  of  its 
extent  or  topography.  Mr.  Jefferson  said  with 
regard  to  it:  "The  country  which  we  wish  to 
purchase  is  a  barren  sand,  six  hundred  miles  from 
east  to  west,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  and  fifty 
miles  from  north  to  south.''  "In  1803  Congress 
attempted  to  extend  the  Indian  trade  into  the 
wild  northwest,  and  so  organized  the  expedition 
that  has  become  historic  as  that  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke.  The  instructions  for  it  were  draughted 
in  April,  1803.  On  the  last  day  of  the  same 
month  Louisiana  was  ceded  to  the  United  States ; 


THE  "  GREAT  AMERICAN  DESERT:'         17 

and  so  the  expedition,  which  consumed  two  years, 
four  months,  and  nine  days  in  the  round-trip  from 
and  to  St.  Louis,  resulted  in  an  exploration  of  our 
own  territory.^^ 

In  the  Geography  of  Morse,  and  the  report  of 
the  Lewis  and  Clarke  expedition,  the  shadows  of 
the  Great  AmeHcau  Desert  first  appeared. 

Lieutenant  Zebulon  M.  Pike  commanded  two 
Government  expeditions  into  the  country  ia  1805- 
1807.  He  was  sent  out  to  examine  the  sources 
of  the  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Platte,  and  Arkansas 
Rivers,  and  he  first  gave  prominence  to  the  un- 
fortunate myth  in  American  geography.  In  his 
report  to  the  War-office  he  declares  the  vast  re- 
gions explored  as  repulsive  to  all  emigrants  and 
impossible  ever  to  be  settled,  and  then  says : 
"From  these  immense  prairies  may  be  derived 
one  great  advantage  to  the  United  States;  namely, 
the  restriction  of  our  population  to  some  certain 
limits,  and  thereby  a  continuation  of  the  Union. 
Our  citizens  being  so  prone  to  rambling  and  ex- 
tending themselves  on  the  frontier,  will,  through 
necessity,  be  constrained  to  limit  their  extent  to 
the  west  to  the  borders  of  the  Missouri  and  Mis- 
sissippi, while  they  leave  the  prairies,  incapable 
of  cultivation,  to  the  wandering  and  uncivilized 
Aborigines  of  the  country.  It  appears  to  me  to 
be  only  possible  to  introduce  a  limited  population 
to  the  banks  of  the  Kansas,  Platte,  aud  Arkan- 


18  SOLITARY  PLAGES  MADE  GLAD. 

sas."  "In  the  year  1819-20,  Major  Stephen  H. 
Long,  of  the  Army,  by  order  of  John  C.  Calhoun, 
Secretary  of  War,  went  out  to  explore  the  Mis- 
souri and  its  principal  branches;  and  then,  in 
succession,  Red  River,  Arkansas,  and  the  Missis- 
sippi above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  The  ex- 
pedition took  winter-quarters  near  Council  Bluffs, 
and  then  swept  the  eastern  base  and  slopes  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  along  and  among  the  heads 
and  tributaries  of  the  Missouri  and  its  lower  val- 
leys. A  few  extracts  from  the  report  of  Major 
Long  will  show  how  the  ^ desert^  grew  in  area 
and  in  terror  before  the  American  people,  and 
how  good  material  it  furnished  to  Europeans  who 
wished  to  disparage  the  United  States  and  dis- 
courage emigration,  and  prepare  the  way  to  cap- 
ture Oregon.  '  Of  the  country  between  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  Missouri,  it  is  reported  that  the 
scarcity  of  timber,  mill-seats,  and  springs  of 
water — defects  that  are  almost  uniformly  preva- 
lent— must,  for  a  long  time,  prove  serious  imped- 
iments in  the  way  of  settling  the  country.  Large 
tracts  are  often  to  be  met  with  exhibiting  scarcely 
a  trace  of  vegetation.'  The  ^  Great  American 
Desert'  manifests  itself  thus  authoritatively  in  an 
official  document  in  this  report  of  a  United  States 
exploring  expedition.  Of  the  mountainous  coun- 
try beyond.  Major  Long  says:  ^It  is  a  region 
destined  by  the  barrenness  of  its  soil,  the  inhos- 


THE  "  ORE  AT  AMERICAN  DESERTS         19 

pi  table  character  of  its  climate,  and  by  other 
physical  disadvantages,  to  be  the  abode  of  per- 
petual desolation/  ^'  * 

From  the  reports  of  the  Government  explora- 
tions of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Pike  and  Long,  the 
material  was  furnished  for  the  school  histories 
and  geographies  of  that  day.  These  reports  were 
considered  authentic. 

"In  1824,  Woodbridge  and  Willard  published 
their  'Geography  for  Schools,'  and  they  thus 
spoke  to  the  generation  of  pupils  whom  a  better 
information  is  now  correcting."     They  say : 

"  From  longitude  96°,  or  the  meridian  of 
Council  Bluffs,  to  the  Chippewa  Mountains,  is  a 
desert  region  of  four  hundred  miles  in  length  and 
breadth.  On  approaching  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  their  snow-capped 
summits  became  visible.  Here  the  hills  become 
more  frequent,  and  elevated  rocks  more  abundant, 
and  the  soil  more  sterile,  until  we  reach  the  ab- 
rupt chain  of  peaks  which  divide  it  from  the 
western  declivities  of  North  America.  Not  a 
thousandth  part  can  be  said  to  have  any  timber 
growth,  and  the  surface  is  generally  naked.  .  .  . 
The  predominant  soil  of  thig  region  is  a  sterile 
sand,  and  large  tracts  are  often  to  be  met  with, 
which  exhibit  scarcely  a  trace  of  vegetation.  .  .  . 

*"The  United  States  of  Yesterday  and  of  To-mor- 
row," p.  99. 


20  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Agreeable  to  the  best  intelligence  we  have,  the 
country,  both  northward  and  southward  of  that 
described,  commencing  near  the  sources  of  the 
Sabine  and  Colorado,  and  extending  to  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  the  United  States,  is  throughout 
of  a  similar  character/^ 

The  Edinburgh  Review,  of  1843,  contained  the 
following,  from  the  polished  pen  of  Washington 
Irving:  ^' There  lies  the  desert,  except  in  a  few 
spots  on  the  border  of  the  rivers,  incapable,  prob- 
ably forever,  of  fixed  settlements.  This  is  the 
great  prairie  wilderness,  which  has  a  general 
breadth  of  six  hundred  or  seven  hundred  miles, 
and  extends  from  south  to  north  nearly  fourteen 
hundred  miles,  so  complete  in  the  character  of 
aridity  that  the  great  rivers — the  Platte,  Arkan- 
sas, and  Rio  Grande — after  many  hundred  miles 
of  course  through  the  mountains,  dry  up  alto- 
gether on  the  plains  in  summer,  like  the  streams 
of  Australia,  leaving  only  standing  pools  of  water 
between  wide  sand-bars." 

In  his  work  entitled  "Astoria,"  Washington 
Irving  describes  the  Great  American  Desert  in 
the  following  language :  "An  immense  tract, 
stretching  north  and  south  four  hundred  of  miles 
along  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
drained  by  the  tributary  streams  of  the  Missouri 
and  the  Mississippi.  This  region,  which  resem- 
bles one  of  the  immeasurable  steppes  of  Asia,  has 


THE  ''GREAT  AMERICAN  DESERT:*  21 

not  inaptly  been  termed  the  ^  Great  American  Des- 
ert.' It  is  a  land  where  no  man  permanently 
abides;  for  in  certain  seasons  of  the  year  there  is 
no  food,  either  for  the  hunter  or  his  steed.  The 
herbage  is  parched  and  withered ;  the  brooks  and 
streams  are  dried  up;  the  buffalo,  the  elk,  and  the 
deer  have  wandered  to  distant  parts,  keeping 
within  the  range  of  expiring  verdure,  and  leaving 
behind  them  a  vast,  uninhabitable  solitude,  seamed 
by  ravines,  the  former  beds  of  torrents,  but  now 
serving  only  to  tantalize  and  increase  the  thirst 
of  the  traveler.  .  .  .  Such  is  the  nature  of  this 
immense  wilderness  of  the  far  West,  which  ap- 
parently defies  cultivation,  and  the  habitation  of 
civilized  life.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  a  great  part 
of  it  will  form  a  lawless  interval  between  the 
abodes  of  civilized  man,  like  the  wastes  of  the 
ocean  or  the  deserts  of  Arabia.^' 

Mr.  Irving's  knowledge  of  the  country  he  de- 
scribes was  not  obtained  from  personal  observa- 
tion, but  was  gained  at  second-hand.  He  de- 
pended upon  others  for  his  information,  and, 
relying  upon  their  representations,  unwittingly 
made  erroneous  statements  that  became  current 
throughout  the  world.  The  men  who  gave  Ir- 
ving much  of  his  information,  were  interested  in  the 
fur-trade,  and  it  was  to  their  interest  to  keep  con- 
cealed many  facts  touching  the  country.  It  was  the 
policy  of  these  men  to  keep  the  world  in  ignorance 


22  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

with  regard  to  this  region,  that  it  might  be  kept 
as  long  as  possible  "  unoccupied  as  a  game  reserve." 

Mr.  Irving  afterwards  made  the  following 
confession  touching  his  own  writings :  "  I  have 
read  somewhat,  heard  and  seen  more,  and  dreamed 
more  than  all.  My  brain  is  filled,  therefore,  with 
all  kinds  of  odds  and  ends.  In  traveling,  these 
heterogeneous  matters  have  become  shaken  up  in 
my  mind,  as  the  articles  are  apt  to  be  in  an  ill- 
packed  traveling  truni?,  so  that,  when  I  attempt 
to  draw  forth  a  fact,  I  can  not  determine  whether 
I  have  heard,  read,  or  dreamed  it,  and  I  am  always 
at  a  loss  to  know  how  much  to  believe  of  my  own 
stories." 

As  late  as  1849,  on  the  map  of  Olney's  "  Quarto 
Geography,"  from  Northern  Texas  to  the  British 
Line,  and  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains, was  a  space  in  which  was  found,  in  large 
letters,  the  words,  "  Great  American  Desert." 

At  a  still  later  date  an  English  writer  in  the 
West7ni7ister  Revieio  says :  ''  From  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  United 
States  territory  consists  of  an  arid  tract,  extend- 
ing south  nearly  to  Texas,  which  has  been  called 
the  ^  Great  American  Desert.'  This  sterile  re- 
gion, covering  such  an  immense  area,  contains 
but  a  few  thousand  miles  of  fertile  land.  .  .  . 
Nature,  marching  from  east  to  west,  showered  her 
bounties  on  the  land  of  the  United  States,  until 


THE  "  GREA T  AMERICAN  DESERT:'        23 

she  reached  the  Mississippi,  but  there  she  turned 
aside  aud  went  northward  to  favor  British  ter- 
ritory/^ 

It  is  related  of  Benjamin  Franklin  that,  in 
one  of  those  courtly  halls  and  gatherings  in  Europe, 
when  nobility  and  statesmanship  and  diplomacy 
were  toying  with  the  young  Republic,  there  hung 
a  map  of  the  United  States,  with  that  dishearten- 
ing inscription,  curving  from  the  Texan  to  the 
British  Border,  '^  The  Great  American  Desert." 
Franklin  took  a  pen  and  drew  a  broad,  erasing 
line  through  the  title.  The  prophecy  uttered  by 
Franklin\s  pen  has  been  fulfilled.  The  desert  has 
disappeared. 

For  a  number  of  years  an  army  of  "  agricul- 
tural invaders"  has  been  crowding  the  "Great 
American  Desert,"  and  this  ghostly  domain  has 
been  displaced  by  the  best  grain  lands  and  graz- 
ing lands  and  mineral  lands  of  the  world.  To- 
day, a  net-work  of  railroads  covers  the  "Great 
American  Desert,"  and  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  the  finest  farms  in  the  world,  whose  fields  yield 
from  twenty  to  fifty  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and 
from  thirty  to  ninety  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  dot 
the  vast  plains,  once  supposed  to  be  uninhabitable. 
A  few  years  have  entirely  dissipated  the  delusion 
touching  the  West,  and  the  Sahara  of  the  United 
States  has  been  found  to  be  one  of  the  most  fer- 
tile, picturesque,  and  inviting  regions  in  the  world. 


24  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

The  salubrious  climate;  the  dry,  pure  air;  the 
clear,  blue  sky ;  the  hills  and  valleys  clothed  with  a 
rich,  green  sward,  and  decorated  with  ten  thousand 
beautiful  flowers;  the  beautiful  winding  streams, 
skirted  with  timber,  along  which  herds  of  buflalo 
and  antelope  once  grazed, — all  combine  to  en- 
hance the  beauty  and  loveliness  of  the  rich  and 
rolling  prairies  of  Nebraska. 

And  now,  where  but  a  few  years  ago  the  wild 
Indian  lived  in  his  wigwam,  the  beautiful  city 
stands ;  where  the  buifalo,  unmolested,  grazed 
and  ruminated,  is  seen  the  beautiful  farm,  with 
fields  waving  with  luxuriant  harvests.  The  war- 
whoop  of  the  savage  had  scarcely  died  away  when 
the  sound  of  the  church-going  bell  and  the  voice 
of  prayer  and  song  were  heard.  Where  the  buf- 
falo, the  elk,  the  deer,  the  antelope,  lived  in  peace 
and  held  undisturbed  sway,  are  now  seen  the 
church  with  its  beautiful  spire  pointing  heaven- 
ward, the  university,  the  college,  the  common 
school,  and  all  the  institutions  neccessary  to  the 
culture  of  the  head  and  the  heart. 

The  forces  that  are  at  work  to-day  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  country  are  tenfold  greater  than 
they  were  thirty  years  ago.  Cities  grow  up  as  by 
magic;  large  farms  are  opened  in  a  year;  inter- 
nal improvements  are  made  with  a  rapidity  that 
would  stagger  the  faith  of  the  most  credulous  who 
lived  a  generation  ago. 


THE  "  GREA  T  AMERICAN  DESERT."          25 

We  have  seen  the  buifalo-path  transformed 
into  the  public  highway,  and  the  Indian-trail  to 
the  railroad,  with  its  fiery  steed  snuffing  the 
breeze,  and  sweeping  with  lightning  speed  from 
the  Missouri  River  to  the  gold-washed  shores  of 
the  Pacific. 

We  have  seen  ignorance  and  barbarity  melt 
away  before  the  mild  and  genial  rays  of  civiliza- 
tion and  the  gospel ;  and  the  air  that  but  a  little 
while  ago  resounded  with  the  wild  war-cry  of  the 
savage,  now  resounds  with  the  songs  of  peace. 

We  are  living  in  a  wonderful  era — the  bright- 
est and  most  inspiring  of  all  the  past.  This  is 
an  age  of  wonderful  advancement.  And  I  am 
glad  to  chronicle  the  fact  that  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual development  of  the  country  keeps  pace 
with  its  material  advancement.  It  has  been  the 
pleasure  of  the  writer  to  witness  the  making  glad 
of  these  solitary  places.  He  has  seen,  with  his 
own  eyes,  the  dreary  and  desolate  plains  of  Ne- 
braska transformed  into  gardens  of  beauty  and 
glory.  And  it  is  the  purpose  in  the  following 
pages  to  delineate,  to  some  extent,  from  actual 
observation,  the  progress  of  this  work. 
3 


26  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DISCOVERY  OF  NEBRASKA. 

CoBONADo's  Expedition  in  1540-41 — De  Soto  discovers 
THE  Mississippi — Father  Marquette  andLaSallk — 
Nebraska  twice  owned  by  Spain,  and  twice  by 
France — Ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1803 — 
Organized  as  a  Territory  in  1854 — Admitted  as  a 
State  in  1867 — Prosperity. 

THE  discovery   of  Nebraska  dates  back   to  a 
period   far   more  distant  than    many    really 
suppose. 

Judge  James  W.  Savage  has  given  much  time 
and  thought  to  the  study  of  this  subject.  In  an  ad- 
dress delivered  before  the  State  Historical  Society, 
April  16,  1880,  he  says:  "Fourscore  years  before 
the  Pilgrims  landed  on  the  venerable  shores  of 
Massachusetts;  sixty-eight  years  before  Hudson 
discovered  the  ancient  and  beautiful  river  which 
still  bears  his  name ;  sixty-six  years  before  John 
Smith,  with  his  cockney  colonists,  sailed  up  a 
summer  stream,  which  they  named  after  James 
the  First  of  England,  and  commenced  the  settle- 
ment of  what  was  afterward  to  be  Virginia; 
twenty-three  years  before  Shakespeare  was  born, 
when   Queen   Elizabeth   was    a    little   girl,    and 


DISCOVERY  OF  NEBRASKA.  27 

Charles  the  Fifth  sat  upon  the  united  throne  of 
Germany  and  Spain,  Nebraska  was  discovered, 
the  peculiarities  of  her  soil  noted,  her  fruits  and 
productions  described,  and  her  inhabitants  and 
animals  depicted."  Three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago  Nebraska  was  discovered  by  the  brill- 
iant and  adventurous  Coronado.  The  expedition 
of  Coronado  from  the  City  of  Mexico  to  the 
plains  of  Nebraska,  in  1540-41,  was  one  of  the 
most  wonderful  undertakings  in  the  history  of  the 
North  American  continent.  Leaving  the  home 
of  the  Montezumas  with  an  army  of  eleven  hun- 
dred men,  scaling  the  mountains  of  Mexico,  push- 
ing across  arid  plains  and  deserts  of  burning 
sand,  meeting  and  conquering  hostile  tribes, 
swimming  rivers,  and  surmounting  almost  every 
conceivable  obstacle,  he  at  last  reached  the  valley 
of  the  Great  Platte,  it  is  supposed,  near  where  the 
city  of  Columbus  now  stands.  He  and  his  noble 
band  of  brave  and  toil-worn  men  were  the  first 
to  traverse  the  beautiful  prairies,  climb  the  hills, 
and  cross  the  streams  of  the  country  destined  in 
future  ages  to  be  one  of  the  most  thrifty  and 
wealthy  States  of  the  American  Union. 

Not  long  after  the  conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cor- 
tes, in  1519,  Nunez  de  Guzman  governed  the 
northern  portion  of  Mexico.  Guzman  was  a 
bitter  enemy  of  Cortes,  and  envious  of  his  brill- 
iant  discoveries.     He  had  a  burning  desire    to 


28  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

eclipse  Cortes  in  his  marvelous  discoveries  and 
the  magnitude  of  his  conquests.  Visions  of  vast 
cities  of  wealth,  beauty,  and  splendor,  which  he 
was  to  conquer,  constantly  rose  before  him.  Guz- 
man had  a  slave — a  Texas  Indian.  This  slave 
was  cunning  and  shrewd.  He  went  to  his 
master  one  day,  and  told  him  a  strange  story 
touching  the  wealth  and  splendor  of  seven  cities 
lying  away  to  the  north.  He  said,  when  a  boy 
he  often  went  with  his  father  to  these  cities,  and 
that  in  beauty,  wealth,  population,  and  magnifi- 
cence, they  compared  with  the  City  of  Mexico 
itself;  "that  whole  streets  blazed  with  shops  of 
gold  and  silver  smiths,  that  the  most  precious  stones 
abounded,  and  that  the  inhabitants  were  gor- 
geously attired,  and  lived  in  all  the  ease  and  lux- 
ury that  wealth  could  bestow.^' 

This  story  excited  the  curiosity  of  the  gov- 
ernor, and  inflamed  his  lust  for  gold.  He  deter- 
mined, if  possible,  to  find  these  cities  of  wealth ; 
but  all  efforts  to  find  them  failed. 

In  1536,  four  men,  half-starved,  half-naked, 
sun-burnt,  and  foot-sore,  from  eight  years'  ex- 
posure to  cold,  heat,  hunger,  thirst,  shipwrecks, 
and  battles,  reached  the  City  of  Mexico.  They 
were  Spaniards.  Eight  years  before,  they  had 
landed  on  the  shores  of  Florida,  with  four  hun- 
dred companions.  Reaching  the  New  World, 
they  started  out  on  their  mission  of  discovery, 


DISCOVERY  OF  NEBRASKA.  29 

expecting  to  find  vast  cities  of  wealth  and  splen- 
dor; but,  alas!  their  expectations  were  doomed 
to  disappointment.  They  waded  through  swamps, 
swam  rivers,  climbed  mountains,  and  fought  bat- 
tle after  battle  with  hostile  tribes.  They  went 
north  and  then  west,  and  after  months  of  weary 
travel  gazed  upon  the  "  Father  of  Waters,"  after- 
wards called  the  Mississippi.  They  crossed  this 
mighty  stream,  and  traveled  several  hundred  miles 
in  a  northwest,  and  then  in  a  westerly,  direction. 
In  their  wanderings  they  doubtless  passed  over 
the  territory  that  is  now  Kansas  and  Colorado, 
and  over  the  Rocky  and  Sierra  Nevada  Mount- 
ains. During  the  eight  long  years  of  weary 
travel,  through  drenching  rains  and  blinding 
snows,  pelting  hail-storms  and  savage  tribes,  suf- 
fering from  intense  cold  in  the  winter  and  heat  in 
the  summer,  one  after  another  of  these  brave 
men  fell,  either  from  thirst  or  hunger  or  exposure, 
or  from  the  hand  of  the  bloody  savage,  and  only 
four  of  all  the  four  hundred  reached  the  City  of 
Mexico  to  tell  the  sad  story  of  their  sufferings. 
In  their  travels  west  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
they  heard  of  vast  cities  of  wealth  lying  away  to 
the  north.  They  related  what  they  had  heard 
from  the  aborigines  they  had  met  at  different 
points  in  their  long  and  lonely  journey.  The 
story  of  these  four  men  kindled  anew  the  desire 
in  the  hearts  of  the  Spaniards  to  discover    the 


30  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

rich  cities  of  which  they  had  so  often  heard  and 
dreamed. 

In  1540  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  nominated  Cor- 
onado  to  head  a  powerful  expedition  for  the  dis- 
covery of  the  Northwest.  Coronado  was  a  Spanish 
cavalier.  He  came  to  Mexico  in  the  bloom  of 
manhood.  He  was  a  brilliant  man,  of  pleasing 
manners,  and  skilled  in  all  the  arts  of  war.  He 
soon  won  the  affections  of  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy 
Spanish  nobleman,  and  they  were  married.  His 
marriage  to  this  beautiful  and  accomplished  lady, 
as  well  as  his  own  superior  talents,  soon  brought 
him  into  note  among  the  Spanish  nobility,  and  he 
was  chosen  to  take  the  responsible  position  of  lead- 
ing the  new  expedition  of  discovery. 

Early  in  the  spring,  at  the  head  of  eleven  hun- 
dred men,  Coronado  left  the  City  of  Mexico,  scaled 
the  rough  mountains,  passed  over  the  plains, 
crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  and  late  in  the  fall  reached 
a  number  of  cities  lying,  it  is  supposed,  not  far 
south  of  where  the  city  of  Sante  Fe  now  stands. 
The  natives  of  these  cities  received  Coronado  and 
his  men  with  the  utmost  kindness  ;  their  kindness, 
however,  was  returned  by  Coronado  with  the 
greatest  cruelty  and  the  most  inhuman  treatment. 
He  burned  their  cities,  put  to  death  many  prison- 
ers of  war,  while  he  made  slaves  of  many  others. 
Having  completely  subjugated  them,  he  remained 
during  the  winter.      In   May,  1541,  he  and  bis 


DISCOVERY  OF  NEBRASKA.  31 

men  left  the  beautiful  valleys  where  they  had  re- 
mained during  the  winter, and  proceeded  on  their 
way  to  the  north.  Day  after  day  this  little  band 
pressed  their  way  northward,  traveling  over  tree- 
less prairies,  with  the  blazing  sun  above  them, 
and  burning  sands  beneath  them.  They  measured 
the  distance  they  traveled  by  each  man's  counting 
the  steps  he  took  during  the  day. 

Late  in  July,  1541,  Coronado  reached  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  State  of  Nebraska, 
and  soon  after  explored  the  valley  of  the  Great 
Platte.  His  description  of  the  soil,  the  Indians, 
the  buffalo  and  antelope,  the  wild  grapes  and 
plums,  and  the  terrible  hail-storms  were  exactly 
as  we  saw  them  with  our  own  eyes  more  than 
three  hundred  years  afterwards. 

The  next  spring  Coronado  was  thrown  from  his 
horse,  and  received  an  injury  from  which  he  suf- 
fered great  pain  for  a  long  time ;  and  as  he  had 
been  told  when  a  boy,  by  one  who  professed  to 
foretell  future  events,  that  he  would  die  from  the 
effects  of  an  injury  caused  by  the  fall  from  a  horse, 
he  imagined  that  the  end  of  his  life  was  near,  and 
ret'urned  with  his  wife  to  the  City  of  Mexico. 

The  viceroy  received  him  with  great  coolness, 
looking  upon  his  expedition  as  a  comparative  fail- 
ure. While  he  had  discovered  a  vast,  rich,  and 
beautiful  territory,  the  cities  of  wealth  and  sj^len- 
dor,  such  as  Pizarro  had  found  in  South  America, 


32  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

and  which  floated  in  visions  before  the  mind  of 
the  governor,  had  not  been  realized.  Here  the 
history  of  Coronado  ends.  The  curtain  of  ob- 
livion drops,  and  he  is  seen  no  more ;  but  the 
country  discovered  by  him  gladdens  the  hearts  of 
millions. 

So  the  territory  of  Nebraska  first  belonged  to 
Spain  by  the  right  of  discovery.  Relics  that  be- 
longed, it  is  thought,  to  the  soldiers  in  Coronado's 
expedition,  have  been  found  at  different  places. 
^^  Near  the  margin  of  the  Pecos  River,  New  Mex- 
ico, in  a  little  crevice  between  the  rocks,  and 
among  bones  gnawed  by  the  wolves,  there  were 
found,  some  years  ago,  the  helmet,  gorget,  and 
breast-plate  of  a  Spanish  soldier.  Straying  per- 
haps from  his  companions,  perhaps  wounded  in  a 
skirmish,  perhaps  sick  and  forsaken,  he  had 
crawled  to  this  rude  refuge,  and,  far  from  the 
fragrant  gardens  of  Seville  and  the  gay  vineyards 
of  Malaga,  had  died  alone.  The  camp-fires  of 
Quivera  were  consumed  more  than  three  centu- 
ries ago ;  the  bones  of  the  profane  Moor  and  the 
self-devoted  Turk  have  bleached  in  the  sunshine 
and  decayed  ;  the  seven  cities  of  Cibola  have  van- 
ished; the  cross  of  Coronado  has  moldered  into 
dust,  and  these  rusted  relics  are  all  that  remain  of 
that  march  through  the  desert  and  the  discovery  of 
Nebraska.'^  Not  many  years  ago  an  antique  stirrup, 
of  the  exact  shape  and  character  of  those  used  for 


DISCOVERY  OF  JSEBRASKA.  33 

centuries  by  the  Moors  and  Spaniards,  was  found 
near  the  Republican,  at  a  spot  seven  miles  north  of 
Riverton,  in  Franklin  County,  Nebraska.  It  was 
buried  very  deep  in  the  ground,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  have  belonged  to  one  of  Coronado's 
soldiers.  Touching  the  above  statements,  I  leave 
the  reader  to  draw  his  own  conclusions. 

While  Coronado  was  slowly  pushing  his  way 
through  unknown  regions  to  the  prairies  of  Ne- 
braska, another  brilliant  expedition  under  the 
folds  of  the  Spanish  flag  was  going  forward  away 
to  the  southeast.  De  Soto,  at  the  head  of  six 
hundred  men,  was  pressing  his  way  through  the 
swamps  of  Florida  to  the  north,  and  in  the  same 
year  (1541)  that  Coronado  discovered  Nebraska, 
De  Soto  discovered  the  Mississippi  River.  While 
this  mighty  river  had  been  crossed  by  a  com- 
pany of  men  a  few  years  previous,  their  transient 
sight  of  it  can  never  rob  the  name  of  De  Soto  of 
the  honor  which  justly  belongs  to  him  as  its  dis- 
coverer. Descending  the  stream  in  1542,  De  Soto 
died,  and  to  conceal  the  knowledge  of  his  death 
from  hostile  Indians,  his  body  was  sunk  in  the 
middle  of  the  stream  at  the  hour  of  midnight, 
and  the  rolling  tide  of  the  mighty  river  still  sings 
his  requiem. 

But  little  was  known  of  the  Mississippi  for 
the  next  hundred  and  thirty-one  years.  Mat- 
ters of  greater  importance  than  its  exploration 


34  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

engaged  the  attention  of  Spain  and  France,  and 
the  New  World  was  almost  entirely  lost  sight  of. 
In  1673,  Father  Marquette,  a  Jesuit  mission- 
ary, with  Louis  Jollet  and  five  Frenchmen, 
launched  their  birch-bark  canoes  on  the  Wiscon- 
sin River,  determined  to  explore  the  "  Father  of 
Waters/'  Descending  the  stream,  they  soon 
reached  its  mouth,  and  sailed  out  into  the  broad 
and  majestic  Mississippi.  They  passed  down  the 
stream  until  satisfied  it  flowed  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico;  then  they  returned,  and  made  their  re- 
port accordingly.  Nine  years  later — in  1682 — 
La  Salle  left  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River,  and 
sailed  down  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  thus 
completing  the  work  begun  by  Father  Marquette 
and  Louis  Joliet.  La  Salle  gave  the  name  of  the 
whole  country  drained  by  the  Mississippi,  Louis- 
iana, in  honor  of  Louis  XIY,  and  took  possession 
of  the  same  in  the  name  of  the  French  king.  The 
province  of  Louisiana  included  the  vast  country 
between  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west,  and 
the  Alleghanies  on  the  east.  In  this  vast  territory 
was  the  present  State  of  Nebraska.  In  1762, 
France  ceded  the  province  of  Louisiana  to  Spain, 
and  Nebraska  was  again  the  territory  of  Spain. 
In  1800  it  was  re-ceded  to  France,  and  Nebraska 
was  again  French  territory.  In  1803,  France 
ceded  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  and  Ne- 
braska becomes  the  territory  of  the  United  States. 


DTSCO  VER  Y  OF  NEBRASKA,  35 

In  1805  the  district  of  Louisiana,  by  an  act  of 
Congress,  was  changed  to  the  "  Territory  of  Lou- 
isiana.^'  In  1812,  the  Territory  of  Louisiana  be- 
came the  Territory  of  Missouri,  and  Nebraska  was 
within  its  bounds.  In  1834,  by  an  act  of  Con- 
gress, all  that  part  of  the  United  States  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  not  within  the  States  of  Mis- 
souri and  Louisiana  or  the  Territory  of  Arkansas, 
was  called  the  "  Indian  Country."  In  this  terri- 
tory was  the  present  State  of  Nebraska.  On  May 
SO,  1854,  Congress  passed  an  act  organizing  the 
Territory  of  Nebraska,  and  President  Pierce  ap- 
})ointed  Francis  Burt,  of  South  Carolina,  Gov- 
ernor. Governor  Burt  reached  Bellevue,  October 
7,  1854,  and  became  the  guest  of  Rev.  William 
Hamilton,  who  had  charge  of  the  Presbyterian 
mission  located  at  that  place.  Shortly  after  reach- 
ing Bellevue,  the  governor  was  taken  sick,  and, 
on  the  18th  day  of  October,  died,  having  taken 
the  oath  of  office  only  two  days  before  his  death. 
The  vacancy  in  the  executive  office  was  filled  by 
Secretary  T.  B.  Cuming.  The  first  official  act 
performed  in  the  Territory  by  an  executive  officer 
was  the  issuance  of  the  proclamation  of  the  death 
of  Governor  Burt.  That  official  act  bears  date 
October  18,  1854. 

On  the  first  day  of  March,  1867,  Nebraska  was 
admitted  as  a  State  into  the  Union.  The  Hon- 
orable David  Butler  was  the  first  governor  of  the 


36  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

State,  and  under  his  able  administration  the  State 
witnessed  the  most  marked  prosperity. 

The  first  reunion  of  the  old  settlers  of  Lan- 
caster County  was  held  at  Cushman  Park,  June 
19,  1889.  In  his  address  to  the  Association  on 
that  occasion,  Hon.  C.  H.  Gere  made  the  follow- 
ing reference  to  the  first  Legislature  of  the  State, 
and  to  Governor  David  Butler:  "Every  law 
passed  by  that  memorable  Legislature  of  '69 
weighed  a  ton.  Its  work  was  original  and  cre- 
ative, and  it  did  it  well.  Its  moving  spirit  was 
the  governor,  David  Butler.  Some  of  its  mem- 
bers came  down  to  Lincoln  from  hostile  localities, 
and  had  it  in  their  hearts  to  destroy  him  and  his 
works;  but  before  the  session  was  a  fortnight  old» 
his  genial  though  homely  ways,  his  kindness  of 
heart,  his  sturdy  common  sense,  the  originality 
of  his  genius,  and  the  boldness  of  his  conceptions, 
captured  them,  and  when  the  forty  days  were 
done,  no  man  in  the  two  houses  avowed  himself 
the  enemy  of  David  Butler.  The  history  of  Ne- 
braska can  not  be  written  without  giving  large 
space  to  what  Governor  Bntler  did."  No  man 
has  done  more  for  the  State  than  Governor  Butler. 

Tlie  beginning  of  the  rapid  development  of  the 
State  dates  back  to  the  period  of  her  admission 
as  a  State  into  the  Union.  From  the  time  of  her 
admission  her  growth  has  been  a  marvel. 

An   unbroken   tide   of   emiojration   has   been 


DISCO  VER  Y  OF  NEBRASKA.  37 

flowing  in  ever  since.  All  over  her  beautiful 
prairies,  towns  have  sprung  up,  and  grown,  as  by 
magic,  into  cities.  Moral  growth  has  kept  pace 
with  the  material  development  of  the  State. 
School-houses  and  churches  are  seen  everywhere. 
They  dot  the  prairies,  crown  the  hills,  nestle  in 
the  valleys,  and  crowd  the  cities.  The  once 
dreary  and  desolate  plains  of  Nebraska  rejoice 
and  blossom  as  the  rose.  What  a  marked  differ- 
ence between  Nebraska  now,  and  when  the  wild 
and  half-nude  savage  threaded  her  trackless 
wilds  !  Following  in  the  wake  of  civilization  and 
the  gospel  come  the  railroad,  the  telegraph,  the 
telephone,  and  all  the  valuable  improvements  of 
the  age. 


38  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 


CHAPTER  III. 

TOPOGRAPHY  AND  RESOURCES  OF  NEBRASKA. 

Position — Area — Elevation — Climate— Soil — Re- 
sources— Intelligence  of  the  People. 

GEOGRAPHICALLY,  Nebraska  is  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  United  States.  It 
lies  midway  between  the  two  oceans,  and  between 
latitude  40°  and  43°  N.  The  extreme  width  of 
the  State  from  north  to  south  is  about  two  hun- 
dred and  ten  miles,  and  its  extreme  length  about 
four  hundred  and  fifteen  miles.  It  has  an  area 
of  seventy-six  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  square  miles,  or  forty-nine  millions  two  hun- 
dred and  tw^elve  thousand  acres,  almost  every 
acre  of  which  may  be  cultivated.  It  is  almost  twice 
as  large  as  the  State  of  Ohio.  If  England  and 
AYales  were  placed  on  top  of  Nebraska,  they 
would  not  carpet  it  by  sixteen  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred square  miles.  It  has  eight  thousand  four 
hundred  and  thirty-one  square  miles  more  than 
all  the  New  England  States  combined.  If  the 
great  State  of  New  York  were  set  down  in  the 
center  of  Nebraska,  there  would  be  twenty-nine 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-five  square 
miles  untouched.     It  has  been  said,  "  Nebraska 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  RESOURCES.  39 

is  an  empire  in  itself."  Its  soil  is  fertile,  its  scenery 
beautiful,  and  its  climate  as  healthful  as  its  area  is 
large  and  its  scenery  charming. 

A  Boston  minister  once  went  to  Europe  to 
rest  and  recuperate.  While  in  London  he  was 
called  on  to  make  a  speech.  He  rose  before  the 
assembly  and  said :  "  My  home  is  on  the  third 
planet  from  the  sun.  The  Western  Hemisphere 
is  the  center  of  the  planet ;  the  United  States  is  the 
center  of  the  hemisphere;  Massachusetts  is  the 
center  of  the  United  States  ;  Boston  is  the  center  of 
Massachusetts ;  my  Church  is  the  center  of  Bos- 
ton, and  I  am  the  center  of  my  Church.''  I  might 
not  claim  for  Nebraska  all  that  the  Boston  preacher 
claimed;  and  yet  the  rich  soil,  balmy  atmosphere, 
undulating  prairies,  thrifty  towns  and  cities,  cul- 
tured, live  men  and  women,  make  it  one  of  the 
most  desirable  of  places  in  which  to  live.  The 
atmosphere  is  clear  and  pure.  The  average  eleva- 
tion is  2,312  feet  above  the  sea.  The  almost 
constant  motion  of  the  air,  the  perfect  natural 
drainage,  and  consequent  freedom  from  all  low, 
marshy  lands,  combine  to  give  the  State  the  pur- 
est, the  most  healthy  and  exhilarating  atnaosphere. 
It  has  been  said,  "  The  atmosphere  of  Nebraska 
is  as  clear  and  much  purer  than  the  far-famed 
skies  of  Italy  and  Greece." 

The  winds  are  very  strong,  and  sometimes 
blow  for  three  days  in  succession  with  such  tre- 


40  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

mendous  force  that  the  pedestrian  must  struggle 
hard  to  keep  his  feet.  While  tornadoes  are 
rare,  gentle  zephyrs  and  winds  are  almost  con- 
stant. A  gentleman  after  visiting  the  State  said 
to  a  friend:  "The  air  of  Nebraska  is  purer,  and 
there  is  more  of  it,  than  in  any  other  country  I 
was  ever  in." 

Samuel  Aughey,  late  professor  of  natural 
sciences  in  the  University  of  Nebraska,  gives  the 
temperature  of  the  State  as  follows :  "  The  mean 
temperature  of  the  summer  months  in  Eastern 
Nebraska  is  between  72°  and  74°,  or,  more  ac- 
curately, close  to  73°,  Fahrenheit.  During  the 
winter  months  it  averages  20°;  during  the  spring 
mouths  47.  8° ;  during  the  autumn  months  496°." 

The  soil  is  a  black,  sandy  loam,  very  rich, 
and  producing  grains,  vegetables,  and  fruits  in 
great  abundance. 

An  estimate  has  been  made  by  competent  and 
thoroughly  posted  men,  and  the  conclusion  has 
been  reached  that  the  two  Dakotas  are  capable  of 
supporting  a  population  of  50,000,000.  Nebraska 
is  more  than  half  as  large  as  these  two  States,  and 
her  soil  equally  as  good,  hence  she  is  capable  of  sup- 
porting a  population  of  25,000,000  souls.  And  the 
time  comes  on  apace  when  that  number  will  be 
within  her  borders.  The  average  annual  growth  of 
the  population  of  Nebraska  for  the  last  nineteen 
years  has  been  sixty-one  thousand.     During  the 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  EESOURCES,  41 

past  few  years,  one  hundred  thousand  people 
have  come  into  the  State  annually. 

Nebraska  is  one  of  the  best  corn-producing 
States  in  the  Union.  The  rate  of  progress  in  Ne- 
braska from  1880  to  1888,  in  the  production  of 
corn,  was  more  rapid  than  in  any  of.  the  adjoining 
States,  as  the  following  statistics  show:  "  In  1880 
Illinois  produced  326,000,000  bushels  of  corn. 
(Round  numbers  are  used  in  all  these  illustrations.) 
Iowa  produced  275,000,000  the  same  year ;  Kan- 
sas, 105,000,000;  Nebraska,  65,000,000.  In  1888 
Illinois  harvested  278,000,000  bushels  of  corn ; 
Iowa,  278,000,000  bushels ;  Kansas,  158,000,000; 
and  Nebraska,  144,000,000.  Here  it  will  be  seen 
that  Illinois  did  not  maintain  her  record.  Iowa 
gained  a  very  small  percentage,  Kansas  improved 
her  record  by  a  little  over  fifty  per  cent,  and  Ne- 
braska leaped  forward  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-one  per  cent.  Here  Nebraska  soil 
meets  and  overmatches  the  giants  in  her.  rate  of 
progress.'* 

Nebraska  soil  is  well  adapted  to  wheat-growing. 
The  striking  superiority  of  Nebraska  soil  and 
climate  is  shown  in  the  subjoined  table  compar- 
ing the  wheat-crops  of  1880  and  1888  in  Illinois, 
Iowa,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska.  Nebraska,  was  the 
only  one  of  these  cereal-producing  States  that 
made  progress  on  the  record  of  1880.  Here  is 
the   exhibit  of   that   fact,  taken  frbm  the  tenth 

4 


42 


SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 


census  and  report  of  the  Washington  Bureau  of 
Agriculture  for  1888: 


States. 

1880. 
Bushels. 

1888. 
Bushels. 

Per  cent  of 
Gain  or 

IjOSS. 

Illinoia 

51,000,000 
31,000,000 
17,325,000 
13,850,000 

34,000,000 
24,000,000 
16,000,000 
14,500,000 

Loss,  33^ 
Loss,  22h 
Loss,  7f 
Gain,  4§ 

Iowa 

Kansas  

Nebraska  

In  a  similar  way  it  can  be  shown  that  Ne- 
braska is  in  the  front  rank  of  the  world's  most 
progressive  States  in  the  production  of  oats,  hay, 
potatoes,  and  other  farm  grains  and  vegetables. 
Being  one  of  the  best  corn  and  hay  producing 
States  in  the  Union,  she  is  also  one  of  the  best 
stock-producing  States.  At  her  age,  Nebraska 
has  had  no  superior  as  a  stock-growing  State. 
Then,  the  dairy  resources  of  Nebraska  are  un- 
surpassed. 

Look  at  the  following  figures  of  the  ^^  Ne- 
braska Dairymen's  Association''  for  1889: 

Nebraska  has  300,000  milch-cows,  valued  at,  $7,200,000 
Nebraska's  butter  product  in  1888,  ....    45,000,000  lbs. 
Product  of  Nebraska  creameries  in  1888,  .      4,000,000  " 
Value  of  Nebraska  dairy  products  in  1888,  $10,500,000 

"  In  no  state  in  the  Union  can  milk,  butter, 
and  cheese  be  produced  at  less  cost  per  pound 
than  in  Nebraska." 

At  the  American  Dairy  Show,  at  Chicago,  in 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  RESOURCES.  43 

1889,  Nebraska  took  the  first  and  second  pre- 
mium on  creamery  butter,  first  on  granulated, 
and  the  diploma  for  the  best  and  largest  collec- 
tion on  exhibition. 

As  a  fruit-growing  State,  Nebraska  is  abreast 
with  other  States.  The  flavor  of  her  fruits  is 
unsurpassed.  Nebraska  carried  oif  the  first  pre- 
mium on  fruit  at  the  meeting  of  the  American 
Pomological  Society,  Richmond,  Virginia,  in 
1870;  again,  at  Boston,  in  1873.  At  Chicago,  in 
1876,  and  at  the  Exposition  in  New  Orleans,  in 
1884,  she  presented  the  largest  collection  of  fruits, 
and  would,  without  doubt,  have  taken  the  pre- 
mium ;  but  none  was  offered. 

In  popular  intelligence  Nebraska  is  at  the 
front.  By  the  census  of  1880  Nebraska  had  the 
lowest  percentage  of  illiteracy  of  any  State  in  the 
Union,  and  Wyoming  Territory  alone  had  a  bet- 
ter record  in  all  the  United  States.  A  few  years 
ago  one  of  our  most  intelligent  ministers  had  an 
appointment  in  a  sparsely  settled  neighborhood 
on  the  prairies  northwest  of  Omaha.  The  meet- 
ing was  in  a  private  house,  and  it  was  made  of 
sod.  The  congregation  consisted  of  about  twelve 
persons.  The  minister  was  very  much  discour- 
aged when  he  looked  upon  his  audience.  The 
men  looked  rough  and  hard.  They  were  sun- 
burnt and  shabbily  dressed,  and,  from  their  gen- 
eral appearance,  he  felt   that   he  had  an   illiterate 


44  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

congregation  before  him,  and  greatly  feared  his 
sermon  would  not  be  at  all  appreciated.  He 
preached,  and  the  most  profound  attention  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  entire  discourse.  At  the 
close  of  the  service,  all  remained  to  greet  the 
preacher,  and  he  learned  that  seven  out  of  the 
twelve  who  had  listened  to  him  were  graduates 
from  Eastern  universities.  According  to  the  num- 
ber, this  was  one  of  the  most,  if  not  the  most,  in- 
telligent congregations  he  had  ever  preached  to 
in  his  life.  The  wonderful  possibilities  of  the 
rich  soil  and  charming  climate  of  Nebraska 
brought  into  the  Territory  the  most  intelligent 
class  of  settlers  at  the  very  commencement. 
From  the  organization  of  the  Territory,  in  1854, 
to  the  present  time,  not  only  in  the  cities  and 
villages,  but  in  the  rural  districts,  all  over  our 
broad  prairies,  in  sod-houses  and  dug-outs,  might 
be  found  the  most  highly  educated  men  and 
women.  To  the  push  and  energy  of  these  cul- 
tured, live  men  and  women  are  we  indebted,  to 
an  extent  at  least,  for  the  wonderful  development 
and  rapid  growth  of  the  State. 

The  soil  of  Nebraska  is  peculiar.  It  retains 
its  moisture  with  wonderful  tenacity,  so  that  long 
periods  of  dry  weather  do  not  materially  affect  the 
crops.  On  the  other  hand,  the  heaviest  rains  re- 
tard the  farmer  but  little  in  his  work.  In  a  few 
hours  after  the  heaviest  rain-storms   the  farmer 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  RESOURCES.  45 

may  be  seen  in  the  field  with  his  plow,  culti- 
vating his  crops  with  as  much  ease  as  if  no  rain 
had  fallen.  This  peculiarity  of  the  soil  guaran- 
tees to  the  faithful  husbandman  a  good  crop  every 
year.  A  failure  in  crops  is  rarely  ever  known  in 
Nebraska. 

The  autumns  are  remarkably  lovely.  They 
are  usually  long,  mild,  and  dry.  The  "  Indian 
summers"  are  delightful,  even  beyond  descrip- 
tion. To  understand  and  rightly  appreciate  them, 
one  must  be  present  and  enjoy  them.  I  have 
lived  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  California,  and  Nebraska, 
and  have  traveled  quite  extensively  through  other 
States,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  Nebraska  com- 
bines more  natural  advantages  than  any  other 
one  State  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge. 


46  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CALIFORNIA  GOLD  EXCITEMENT  IN  1848-50. 

Gold  discovered — Anxious  to  go — "Outfit"  obtained — 
Farewell  to  Friends — Trip  from  South  Bend  to  Old 
Fort  Kearney — Perilous  Passage  Over  the  "  Bio 
Muddy  "  —  First  Night  in  Nebraska  —  Terrible 
Storm — Beautiful  Scene. 

IN  the  year  1848  rich  gold-mines  were  discovered 
in  California.  During  that  year,  and  in  1849, 
the  most  intense  excitement  on  the  subject  pre- 
vailed throughout  all  the  States.  Flushed  with  the 
glowing  reports  from  the  mines  that  came  by 
every  mail,  and  with  high  expectations  of  becom- 
ing independently  rich  in  a  few  mouths,  tens  of 
thousands  rushed  to  the  land  of  gold.  The  gold- 
fever,  like  a  tidal  wave,  rolled  from  ocean  to 
ocean.  Many  went  "  over  the  Plains,''  crossing 
the  Missouri  River,  passing  up  the  Great  Platte 
Valley,  thence  over  the  Rocky  and  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains.  To  make  this  trip,  from  three  to 
four  months  were  required.  Others  went  by 
water,  doubling  Cape  Horn,  a  voyage  requiring 
five  or  six  months;  while  many  others  went  by 
way  of  the  isthmus,  crossing  from  Aspinwall  to 
Panama,  and  from  there  on  the  Pacific  to  San 
Francisco. 


CALIFORNIA  GOLD-FEVER.  47 

In  South  Bend,  Indiana,  my  home,  the  "  Cali- 
fornia fever ''  raged  fearfully,  carrying  hundreds  of 
the  people  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  Several  companies 
were  organized,  and  set  out  for  the  far  distant 
West.  Just  before  bidding  their  friends  farewell, 
as  their  teams  stood  hitched  to  their  wagons  in 
the  street,  the  Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax  was  called 
on  for  a  speech.  He  was  in  the  second  story  of 
a  large  store-building  on  Washington  Street.  He 
stepped  forward  to  an  open  window,  and  looking 
down  into  a  sea  of  upturned  faces,  spoke  to  the 
emigrants.  He  assured  them  that  they  would 
have  the  sympathy  and  prayers  of  the  friends  they 
left  behind,  and  that  during  their  absence  the 
citizens  of  South  Bend  would  never  allow  any  of 
their  families  to  suifer  want.  His  few  felicitous 
remarks  touched  the  hearts  of  all.  The  faces  of 
the  emigrants,  and  the  hundreds  who  crowded 
the  streets  to  witness  their  departure,  were  bathed 
in  tears.  The  scene  was  a  most  touching  one.  I 
shall  never  forget  it.  I  shall  never  forget  how  I 
envied  the  young  men  that  were  among  the  emi- 
grants, and  how  ardently  I  longed  to  be  one  of 
their  number.  The  desire  already  kindled  in  my 
young  heart  for  the  new  El  Dorado,  was  fanned 
to  a  flame,  and  burned  with  a  white  heat.  I  said 
to  myself,  "  I  will  go  some  day.^'  During  all 
that  year  the  excitement  continued,  becoming, 
if  anything,  more   intense.     The    mail    from    the 


48  SOLITARY  PLAGES  MADE  GLAD, 

Pacific  Coast  came  only  once  a  month.  When  it 
arrived,  hundreds  gathered  in  and  around  the 
post-office,  eager  to  learn  the  latest  news  from  the 
mines.  Nearly  all  the  letters  from  friends  were 
read  aloud  to  the  citizens.  When  a  letter  was  re- 
ceived, after  glancing  over  it  himself,  the  person 
receiving  it  was  called  on  to  read  it  aloud  for  the 
benefit  of  all  present.  He  would  climb  upon  a 
chair  or  a  dry -goods  box,  and  read,  while  the  hun- 
dreds around  him  stood  in  breathless  silence, 
bending  forward,  eager  to  catch  every  word  that 
fell  from  his  lips.  I  have  seen  a  large  crowd 
standing  in  front  of  the  post-office  in  the  midst 
of  a  drenching  rain,  and  while  one  held  an  um- 
brella over  the  person  reading  the  letter,  the  crowd 
listened,  seemingly  unconscious  of  the  terrible 
storm  that  was  raging.  And  I  do  not  suppose 
there  was  one  in  the  vast  crowd  more  oblivious  to 
the  storm,  more  anxious  to  hear,  and  more  in- 
tensely interested  than  myself.  We  talked  of 
California  by  day,  and  dreamed  of  it  by  night. 
Visions  of  the  far-famed  gold-regions  often  rose 
before  us.  In  the  spring  of  1850  the  long-wished- 
for  time  came.  Judge  E.  Egbert,  a  brother-in- 
law,  offered  an  "  outfit  '*  to  my  brother  Albert 
and  myself,  with  the  understanding  that  we  were 
to  give  him  one-third  of  all  the  profits  arising 
from  any  business  we  might  engage  in  while  in 
California. 


CALIFORNIA  OOLD-FEVER.  49 

I  was  then  seventeen  years  old.  With  buoy- 
ant spirits,  bright  hopes,  and  visions  of  immense 
treasures  of  wealth  before  us,  we  bade  adieu  to  a 
weeping  mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  and  friends, 
and  started  for  the  far  West.  Little  did  we 
know,  or  even  dream,  of  the  privations,  suffer- 
ings, and  disappointments  that  awaited  us  in  the 
future.  And  well  is  it  that  a  kind  Providence 
keeps  all  these  things  hid  from  us !  Well  is  it 
that  the  future,  so  far  as  these  things  are  con- 
cerned, is  all  unknown.  Little  did  we  know  of 
the  dangers  that  would  beset  us  on  every  hand, 
ot  the  many  imminent  perils  to  which  we  should 
be  exposed.  Even  now,  when  I  think  of  the 
many  narrow,  hair-breadth  escapes  of  life,  I  feel 
a  peculiar  chilly  sensation  creeping  over  me.  I 
often  ask :  "  How  was  it  we  escaped  ?"  The  an- 
swer comes  in  an  instant :  "  God's  guardian  angel 
watched  over  us.'' 

There  is  truth,  as  well  as  poetry,  in  Shake- 
speare's words: 

"There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Kough-hew  them  how  we  will." 

Thomson,    too,    utters    a    great    truth    when 

he  says: 

"  There  is  a  Power 
Unseen,  that  rules  the  illimitable  world, 
That  guides  its  motions,  from  the  brightest  star 
To  the  least  dust  of  this  sin-tainted  mold." 
5 


50  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

I  verily  believe  that  that  "unseen  Power'' 
which  guides  the  motion  of  all  worlds,  all  sys- 
tems, and  all  atoms,  guided  and  guarded  us. 

The  patriotic  Roman  cried  out :  "  If  I  had  a 
thousand  lives,  I  would  give  them  all  for  my 
country." 

With  greater  emphasis,  and  greater  love  for 
God  than  the  Roman  had  for  his  country,  I  have 
often  said:  "If  I  had  a  thousand  lives,  they 
should  all  be  given  to  God.'' 

We  were  just  four  weeks  going  from  South 
Bend,  Indiana,  to  Saint  Joseph,  Missouri.  The 
roads  through  Illinois  and  Missouri  were  very 
bad.  We  had  never  seen  anything  like  them. 
There  was  snow  and  rain  and  mud.  We  had 
black,  sticky  mud  in  Illinois,  and  yellow,  sticky 
clay  in  Missouri.  In  that  early  day  there  were 
but  few  bridges,  and  but  very  little  work  had 
been  done  on  the  roads.  It  is  hard  for  any  one 
now,  in  these  days  of  improved  roads  and  easy 
travel,  to  imagine  the  difficulties  that  were  in  the 
way  of  travel  at  that  time.  Illinois  was  full  of 
sloughs.  •  These  have  since  been  bridged,  and  no 
longer  impede  the  traveler.  We  would  cross 
several  of  these  daily,  and  often  our  horses  would 
go  down  to  their  sides  in  mud.  We  came  to  one 
of  these  one  day ;  it  looked  ominous ;  we  hesi- 
tated about  attempting  to  cross.     A  team  was  just 


CALIFORNIA  GOLD-FEVER.  51 

in  front  of  ns,  and  the  driver  said  to  the  man  on 
the  other  side : 

"Is  the  bottom  good?" 

"  Yes,"  was  the  reply.  So  he  cracked  his  whip 
and  started  in.  His  horses  began  to  flounder  and 
soon  went  down  to  their  sides  in  mud,  and  the 
whole  wagon  was  buried  except  the  box.  The 
driver  cried  out  in  a  rage  to  the  man  on  the 
other  side : 

"I  thought  you  said  the  bottom  was  good 
here?" 

"  It  is,"  said  the  man,  coolly,  "  but  you  are  not 
half-way  down  to  it."  It  was  a  common  remark 
among  the  emigrants  that  the  bottoms  had  dropped 
out  of  all  the  roads  in  Illinois. 

Twenty  miles  east  of  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  we 
stopped  four  weeks  to  rest  our  horses,  lay  in  pro- 
visions, and  prepare  for  the  long  journey  over  the 
plains.  At  that  time  St.  Joseph  was  the  extreme 
western  border  of  civilization,  and  the  outfitting 
point  for  emigrants  starting  for  California.  Beyond 
this,  all  was  a  wide,  desolate  waste.  There  were  no 
white  settlements  west  of  this.  The  whole  territory 
belonged  to  the  Indians.  St.  Joseph  was  a  small, 
unsightly,  filthy  town,  of  a  few  hundred  inhabit- 
ants, and  in  looks  the  people  compared  very  fa- 
vorably with  the  dingy  houses,  filthy  streets,  and 
general  repulsiveness  of  the  place.     Hero  we  saw 


52  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD, 

what  we  had  never  seen  before.  Many  of  the 
men  we  met  wore  about  them  leather  belts,  in 
which  were  large  bowie-knives  and  revolvers. 
These  they  carried  openly,  and  no  attempt  what- 
ever was  made  to  conceal  their  deadly  weapons. 
Robberies  were  of  almost  daily  occurrence,  and  it 
was  unsafe  for  a  man  to  walk  the  streets  alone  at 
night.  We  felt  peculiar.  We  realized,  for  the 
first  time,  that  we  were  in  a  "  strange  land,^' 
among  thieves  and  robbers  and  cut-throats,  and 
that  life  was  none  too  safe.  The  impression  made 
upon  one,  unaccustomed  to  such  scenes,  was  very 
strong.  I  sometimes  felt  my  heart  creeping  up 
into  my  throat,  and  a  certain  unpleasant  choking 
sensation.  But  this  little,  unsightly,  unattractive 
village  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  beautiful,  flour- 
ishing, and  inviting  cities  of  the  West. 

From  this  place  we  passed  up  the  east  side  of 
the  Missouri  River  into  Iowa,  to  a  point  just  op- 
posite old  Fort  Kearney.  Old  Fort  Kearney 
stood  right  where  Nebraska  City  now  stands. 
Here  we  crossed  the  "  Big  Muddy ''  in  an  old,  di- 
lapidated ferry-boat.  The  river  was  high,  the 
current  swift,  and  to  undertake  to  cross  the  tur- 
bulent stream  in  such  a  rickety  craft  was  indeed 
a  hazardous  task.  The  ferrymen  managed  the 
boat  with  oars  and  long  poles.  Only  the  day  be- 
fore the  current  got  away  with  them,  carried  them 
some  distance  below  the    landing,  capsized   the 


CALIFORNIA  QOLD-FEVER.  53 

boat,  and  a  span  of  horses  and  a  loaded  wagon 
went  down  and  were  lost.  The  ferryman  said, 
while  there  was  danger,  still  he  thought  he  could 
land  us  safely  on  the  other  side.  We  were  rest- 
less, anxious  to  proceed  on  our  journey,  and  un- 
willing to  wait  for  the  water  to  fall.  We  said, 
"  We  will  risk  it,^^  and  drove  our  team  on  board ; 
and,  with  bated  breath  and  trembling  limbs,  held 
the  horses  and  watched  the  oarsmen  with  the 
most  intense  anxiety.  When  the  dangerous  cur- 
rent was  passed  and  the  pilot  cried  out,  "Safe,'' 
the  heavy  strain  was  gone;  relief  came,  and  we 
breathed  easy.  A  few  moments  afterwards  the 
boat  struck  the  shore,  and  on  the  2d  day  of  May, 
1850,  our  feet  pressed  Nebraska  soil  for  the  first 
time.  AVe  pitched  our  tent  on  the  western  slope 
of  "  Kearney  Hill ;"  and  as  it  was  raining  and  the 
ground  wet,  we  cut  hazel-brush,  on  which  we 
placed  our  blankets  and  made  a  comfortable  bed. 
That  night  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  the  thun- 
der-peals were  deafening.  Lightning-flash  vied 
with  lightning  flash,  and  thunder-peal  with  thun- 
der-peal, and  the  elements  seemed  holding  a  grand 
carnival.  In  the  morning  we  found  the  water 
running  like  a  perfect  mill-tail  through  our  tent 
and  under  our  bed.  The  brush,  however,  kept 
the  bed  from  the  water,  and  we  were  perfectly 
dry.  Early  that  day  the  clouds  cleared  away,  the 
sun  came  forth,  pouring  his  mellow  rays  of  light 


54  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

upon  all  around,  and  the  scene  that  swept  before 
us  from  the  west  was  beautiful,  even  beyond  all 
description.  The  lovely  prairies,  stretching  away 
in  every  direction  as  far  as  vision  could  extend, 
with  swell  rising  above  swell,  carpeted  Avith  living 
green,  and  beautified  with  flowers  of  almost  every 
hue,  made  a  scene  which  caused  us  involuntarily 
to  exclaim,  "  Grand !'' 

Our  first  meeting  with  Nebraska  was  like  the 
first  meeting  of  many  a  young  man  and  woman — 
it  was  "  love  at  first  sight.''  And  that  love,  kin- 
dled when  we  first  gazed  upon  Nebraska's  beauty, 
has  been  growing  in  intensity  for  forty  years. 

As  we  stood  upon  Kearney  Hill,  it  never  once 
occurred  to  us  that,  in  a  very  few  years  hence,  on 
this  very  spot,  would  rise  a  great  and  beautiful 
and  flourishing  city.  And  still  more  remote  was 
the  thought  that,  in  eleven  short  years,  I  should 
be  a  minister  of  the  gospel  and  presiding  elder 
of  a  district  embracing  near  half  the  Territory  of 
Nebraska.  If  such  a  thought  had  entered  my 
mind  at  that  time,  I  should  have  banished  it  in 
an  instant  as  one  of  the  wild  visions  of  the 
young. 

I  was  then  an  uneducated,  unconverted  boy 
of  seventeen  years.  My  heart  was  on  this  world. 
Bright  visions  of  the  future  rose  before  me. 
Vast  treasures  of  wealth  were  soon  to  be  mine. 
A   life   of  unalloyed   pleasure,   with    everything 


CALIFORNIA  GOLD-FEVER.  55 

earth  can  give  to  make  man  happy,  was  within 
my  grasp.  These  were  the  dreams  of  my  young 
heart.  Little  did  I  imagine  that  ail  my  worldly 
plans  and  hopes,  in  a  few  brief  years,  would  be 
dashed  to  atoms. 

Momentous  events  and  wonderful  scenes  were 
crowded  into  the  next  ten  years.  When  I  think 
of  the  stupendous  events  and  wonderful  changes 
that  took  place  during  that  short  period,  a  sensa- 
tion I  have  no  language  to  describe  thrills  my 
whole  being. 


66  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  QLAD, 


CHAPTER  V. 

ACROSS  THE  PLAINS. 

Old  Fort  Kearney — Nebraska  City — Platte  Eiver — 
Indians — New"*  Fort  Kearney — Wolves — Midnight 
Alarm — Chimney  Rock — Court-house  Rock — Buffa- 
loes— Sweet  Water — Summit  of  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains— Green  River — Bear  River — Humboldt — Des- 
ert— Carson  River— Summit  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas — 
Journey  ended. 

KEARNEY  HILL,  where  we  spent  our 
first  night  in  Nebraska,  is  now  a  part  of 
Nebraska  City.  Table  Creek  winds  along  the 
foot  of  Kearney  Hill.  Just  across  this  creek,  and 
a  few  hundred  yards  to  the  northwest,  stood  Old 
Fort  Kearney.  On  the  5th  day  of  May  we  left 
the  Old  Fort.  We  were  then  beyond  the  bounds 
of  civilization.  There  were  no  white  persons  re- 
siding in  all  the  Territory  of  Nebraska,  save  a  few 
traders  and  United  States  troops,  garrisoned  at 
different  points  for  the  defense  of  the  emigrants. 
The  garrison  here  consisted  of  a  block-house, 
made  of  logs,  with  port-holes  for  cannon  and 
muskets,  and  two  rows  of  barracks  in  the  shape 
of  an  angle.  In  1848  this  military  post  was 
abandoned  by  the  Government,  and  the  troops 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  57 

moved  to  New  Fort  Kearney,  on  the  Platte  Kiver, 
about  two  hundred  miles  west.  In  1850,  when 
we  first  saw  the  fort,  the  Government  property 
was  in  the  care  of  H.  P.  Downs.  Eleven  years 
later,  when  presiding  elder  of  Nebraska  City  Dis- 
trict, we  became  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Downs 
and  his  family.  They  were  then  active  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Nebraska 
City.  When  the  war  broke  out  in  1861,  Colonel 
Hiram  P.  Downs  assisted  in  raising  the  "  Nebraska 
Regiment,^'  and  in  August  of  that  year  he  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general. 

When  Nebraska  City  was  founded  and  platted 
in  1854,  the  old  block-house  stood  on  Main  Street, 
near  the  center  of  the  city.  Here  it  remained 
until  1886,  when  it  was  removed.  Many  of  the 
old  citizens  strongly  protested  against  the  removal 
of  this  '*  old  landmark."  If  I  could  have  had 
my  voice  and  my  way  in  the  matter,  it  never 
would  have  been  removed,  if  it  did  stand  in  the 
center  of  a  beautiful  city  of  fifteen  thousand  in- 
habitants. We  first  saw  it  in  1850.  We  next 
saw  it  in  1860;  and  in  1861  we  moved  to  Ne- 
braska City,  and  for  seven  years,  almost  daily, 
looked  upon  the  old  garrison.  And  for  many 
years  afterwards,  whenever  we  visited  the  city,  we 
expected  to  see  the  "  block-house  " — the  people's 
old  defender.  It  was  like  looking  into  the  face 
of  an  old  familiar  friend.     We  were  sorry,  and 


58  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

ready  to  drop  a  tear  over  its  departure.  Lay  not 
rude  hands  upon  the  old  landmarks.  Let  them 
stand  as  monuments  of  the  good  they  have  done 
in  the  past ! 

What  a  change  has  taken  place  since  1850! 
The  old  log  garrison  has  given  way  to  a  large 
and  beautiful  city ;  the  grass-covered  prairies  to 
the  most  lovely  farms,  whose  fields  wave  with 
luxuriant  grain,  and  whose  orchards  bend  under 
the  weight  of  rich  and  luscious  fruits. 

From  Old  Fort  Kearney  we  started  west,  trav- 
eling over  undulating  prairies  and  across  winding 
streams,  skirted  with  timber,  as  beautiful,  it 
seemed  to  us,  as  any  on  which  the  eye  of  man  ever 
rested.  After  several  days'  travel  we  struck  the 
valley  of  the  Great  Platte  River.  The  Platte  is 
the  largest  river  in  Nebraska.  Its  head-waters 
rise  in  the  mountains  of  Colorado  and  Montana, 
some  of  them  being  fed  ty  the  "everlasting 
snows."  It  flows  east,  through  the  central  por- 
tion of  the  State,  and  empties  its  waters  into  the 
Missouri  just  above  where  the  city  of  Plattsmouth 
.  now  stands.  It  is  a  wide,  rapid,  and  very  shal- 
low stream ;  and  its  valley — eight  to  fifteen  miles 
wide — approximates,  in  fertility,  the  valley  of  the 
Nile.  This  stream  has  been  known  by  two  differ- 
ent names— "Nebraska"  and  "Great  Platte." 
Nebraska  is  an  Indian  name;  Great  Platte  is  a 
French  name.     They  are  both  of  the  same  im- 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  59 

port,  signifying  "broad  water/'  It  is  a  danger- 
ous' stream  to  ford,  on  account  of  the  rapidity  of 
its  current  and  its  quicksand  bottom. 

Descending  an  abrupt  bluff,  we  struck  the 
valley  of  this  great  stream.  Here,  for  the  first 
time,  we  met  Indians.  Several  hundred  Pawnee 
warriors  gathered  around  us.  They  were  painted, 
feathered,  and  dressed  in  almost  every  conceivable 
fantastic  style,  and  armed  with  muskets,  knives, 
spears,  and  bows  and  arrows.  They  were  on  the 
war-path  against  the  Sioux.  Being  armed  to  the 
very  teeth,  they  seemed  anxious  for  the  bloody 
fray.  We  came  upon  them  very  suddenly.  Just 
as  we  descended  the  steep  bluff  into  the  valley, 
before  we  were  aware  of  it,  we  were  completely 
surrounded  with  these  savages.  I  do  not  know 
how  the  other  members  of  our  company  felt.  I 
know  very  well  how  I  felt,  and  I  shall  never 
forget  the  feelings  I  then  had.  At  the  first  sight 
of  these  savage  looking  "red-skins,"  my  heart,  it 
seemed,  leaped  right  up  into  my  throat,  and  as 
hard  as  I  tried,  I  could  not  possibly  keep  it  down, 
and  it  really  seemed  to  me  I  should  choke,  and  a 
most  strange  sensation  crept  all  over  me,  such  as 
I  had  never  felt  before.  It  was  a  time  that  tried 
a  man's  nerve,  but  I  did  not  care  to  have  such  a 
test  repeated.  There  was  but  a  handful  of  us 
compared  with  them,  and  we  were  wholly  in  their 
power.     We  knew  very  well  they  could,  if  they 


60  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

wished,  kill  and  scalp  every  one  of  us,  or  take  us 
prisoners,  and  put  us  to  death  by  inches,  with 
the  most  inhuman  tortures,  as  they  had  done  to 
many  others ;  and  we  well  knew  that  torture  was 
their  favorite  amusement.  And  as  they  were  on 
the  war-path,  and  needed  munitions  of  war,  we 
knew  that  our  provisions  and  teams  and  weapons 
and  ammunition  were  a  temptation  to  them  to 
put  us  out  of  the  way.  I  confess,  I  felt  a  pecu- 
liar weakness  about  the  knees,  and  a  strange, 
trembling  sensation  all  over.  However,  after 
giving  them  a  few  articles  of  food,  they  left,  pass- 
ing on  to  the  south,  and  we  went  our  way  re- 
joicing, feeling  wonderfully  relieved,  and  breath- 
ing with  ease  again. 

Two  days  after  this  we  reached  New  Fort 
Kearney,  which  we  found  situated  on  a  lovely 
spot  in  the  valley  of  the  Great  Platte.  Here  we 
found  a  number  of  United  States  troops  quar- 
tered. The  commander  of  the  post  ordered  every 
emigrant  to  pass  into  one  of  the  offices,  where  a 
clerk  registered  each  name,  his  former  residence, 
and  destination. 

From  here  we  traveled  up  the  Platte  for  days 
and  days,  with  the  same  monotonous  scenes  be- 
fore us,  the  same  turbid  stream,  the  same  low 
range  of  bluifs  in  the  distance,  the  same  wide 
valley,  with  but  here  and  there  a  lone  tree  or 
shrub  to  greet  the  eye. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  61 

The  emigration  was  so  large  that  year,  that  the 
grass  was  eaten  off  close  to  the  ground,  by  the 
cattle  and  horses,  for  a  great  distance  on  both 
sides  of  the  road,  and  we  frequently  had  to  go 
from  one  to  five  miles  to  obtain  grass  for  our 
horses. 

One  afternoon,  about  three  oclock,  we  camped 
on  the  bank  of  the  Platte  River,  where  we  could 
get  plenty  of  wood  and  water.  There  was  no 
grass,  however,  so  brother  Albert  and  myself 
took  the  horses  back  to  the  bluffs,  some  five  miles 
away,  into  a  deep  canyon,  where  we  found  an 
abundance  of  good  grass.  Here  we  watched  the 
horses,  until  it  began  to  grow  dark,  when  we 
caught  them,  and  were  about  to  get  on  and  ride 
back  to  camp.  While  in  the  act  of  bridling  them, 
a  strange  and  startling  sound  broke,  all  at  once, 
upon  our  ears.  It  came  from  every  direction. 
It  was  the  cry  of  a  thousand  hungry  wolves  that 
broke  the  stillness  of  the  evening  air.  In  an  in- 
stant, and  simultaneoudy,  they  seemed  to  leap 
from  their  hiding-places  in  the  caves  and  crags 
and  glens,  and  came  rushing  down  towards  us 
with  a  hideous  howl  that  thrilled  us  through  and 
through,  making  our  hair  stand  on  end.  The 
noise  seemed  to  make  the  very  hills  shake  and 
tremble  around  us.  My  brother  succeeded  in 
getting  on  his  horse  first,  and  looking  back  and 
seeing   me  still   on    the   ground,    he   cried    out: 


62  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

*^  Henry,  get  on  quick,  or  you  will  be  over- 
taken/^ I  tried  again  and  again  to  mount,  but 
was  so  excited  and  frightened  I  fki»led  every 
time.  It  seemed  to  me  I  never  could  get  on  my 
horse.  After  repeated  trials,  I  at  length  suc- 
ceeded, and  we  rode  down  the  canyon  as  fast  as 
horse-flesh  could  carry  us.  When  we  got  out  of 
the  hills,  and  reached  the  open  valley,  it  was  so 
dark  Ave  could  not  even  see  the  horses^  heads  be- 
fore us.  Egyptian  darkness  could  not  have  been 
more  dense.  We  looked  for  the  camp-fire,  which 
we  expected  to  see ;  but  in  vain,  not  a  single  ray 
of  light,  nor  a  single  object,  could  be  seen  in  any 
direction.  The  thought  then  flashed  upon  our 
minds  that  we  might  not  be  able  to  find  our  way 
back  to  camp  again,  and  that  we  should  be  over- 
taken, and  fall  a  prey  to  the  hungry  and  ferocious 
wolves.  We  rode  on  for  some  time  under  the 
deepest  suspense,  goading  our  horses  forward  as 
fast  as  possible,  and  straining  our  eyes  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  light  from  the  camp-fire.  At  length 
we  saw  away  in  the  distance  a  flickering  light ;  it 
seemed  the  most  perfectly  beautiful  of  anything 
we  had  ever  seen ;  it  came  to  us  in  that  dark  and 
dangerous  hour  as  an  inspiration.  We  Avere  en- 
couraged, and  urged  on  our  horses,  and  were  soon 
seated  by  our  own  camp-fire,  partaking  of  a  hearty 
supper,  which  had  been  prepared  for  us ;  after  which 
we  lay  down  to  dream  over  our  new  adventure. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  63 

When  we  reached  the  forks  of  the  Platte 
River,  our,  route  was  then  up  the  South  Fork  of 
this  stream.  One  night,  about  dusk,  after  trav- 
eling hard  all  day,  we  reached  a  point  where  the 
high  bluffs  came  within  a  few  rods  of  the  river, 
at  the  mouth  of  a  deep  ravine.  Here,  at  the 
mouth  of  this  ravine,  with  high,  abrupt,  and 
rocky  bluffs  upon  either  side,  we  pitched  our 
tents  and  stopped  for  the  night.  It  was  a  gloomy, 
dismal-looking  place.  On  our  right  was  the  river; 
on  our  left  the  deep  ravine ;  in  front  and  in  our 
rear  rose,  almost  perpendicular,  the  frowning 
bluffs.  It  was  just  the  right  place  to  be  over- 
taken and  cut  to  pieces  by  Indians.  We  prepared 
supper,  put  out  our  guards,  and  retired  to  our 
tents  to  rest.  Foot-sore  and  weary,  we  soon  fell 
into  a  deep  sleep.  About  midnight  we  were 
aroused  from  our  sweet  slumbers  and  dreams  of 
home  and  loved  ones  by  the  guards,  who  rushed 
to  the  tents,  and  in  a  low  voice  said :  ^'  Indians ! 
Indians !  Get  up,  and  get  your  guns,  quick, 
quick !  We  hear  them  crossing  the  river  on  their 
ponies.  They  will  be  here  in  five  minutes.'' 
Startled,  frightened,  and  trembling  like  an  aspen- 
leaf,  we  tried  to  find  our  arms ;  but  every  thing 
seemed  out  of  place.  Guns,  powder,  balls,  caps, 
everything  was  gone.  The  Indians,  as  we  sup- 
posed, were  just  upon  us,  and  we  were  without 
anything  with  which  to  defend  ourselves.     It  was 


64  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

a  time  of  intense  excitement.  In  a  few  moments, 
however,  we  recovered  our  presence  of  mind, 
found  our  guns  and  ammunition,  and  with  every- 
thing ready,  we  went  out  to  meet  the  foe.  We 
could  distinctly  hear  them  slowly  crossing  the 
river.  Plash !  plash !  plash  !  we  heard  their  feet 
in  the  water.  The  river  was  near  a  mile  wide, 
and  it  took  some  time  for  them  to  cross.  Nearer 
and  nearer  they  came.  At  length  they  reached 
the  shore,  rose  upon  the  bank,  when,  lo  and  be- 
hold !  we  saw,  not  Indians,  but  a  large  herd  of 
buffaloes.  We  laughed  heartily  at  our  scare,  re- 
turned to  our  tents,  and  slept  soundly  till  morn- 
ing. The  next  day  we  crossed  the  South  Platte 
where  Julesburg  now  stands. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  give  a  bit  of  his- 
tory touching  the  founding  of  this  city.  Jules- 
burg derives  its  name  from  a  tragic  and  blood- 
curdling incident,  such  as  abound  in  the  early 
history  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  as  well  as  other 
Western  States  and  Territories.  Julesburg  de- 
rives its  name  from  a  Frenchman  named  Jules 
Beni.  In  1855  Jules  Beni  kept  a  ranch  at  this 
point.  At  that  time  the  mail  was  carried  over- 
land from  the  States  to  California,  and  this  was 
one  of  the  stations  where  horses  for  the  company 
were  kept.  A  noted  desperado,  by  the  name  of 
Alf  Slade,  was  superintendent  of  the  stage  com- 
pany, and  Jules  Beni  had  charge  of  the  stock. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  65 

Slade  was  said  to  be  the  most  cruel  and  desperate 
character  that  ever  frequented  the  frontier,  and 
woe  betide  the  man  who  ever  had  an  altercation 
with  him.  He  could  kill  a  man  in  cold  blood, 
and  with  as  much  composure  as  he  would  sit  down 
and  take  his  meal.  One  day  he  got  into  a  quarrel 
with  Jules,  and  told  him  he  would  cut  oif  his  ears 
and  wear  them  as  a  charm  on  his  watch-chain. 
Slade  started  across  the  yard  for  his  arms,  and  Jules, 
knowing  the  desperate  character  of  the  man  he  had 
to  deal  with,  shot  and  wounded  him,  and  then,  fear- 
ing vengeance  from  Blade's  associates,  he  fled  to  a 
deep  canyon  in  the  vicinity.  Here  he  remained 
concealed  until  he  prevailed  on  one  of  his  asso- 
ciates to  take  charge  of  his  cattle.  He  then  left 
the  frontier  and  went  to  Saint  Louis.  In  1860 
he  returned  to  Cottonwood  Springs.  Shortly 
afterwards,  with  a  company  of  men,  he  started 
westward  for  his  cattle,  which  were  then  near 
Fort  Laramie.  He  had  only  got  a  short  distance 
on  his  way  back,  when  he  was  overtaken  by  Slade, 
with  a  number  of  his  men.  "  Slade  immediately 
shot  Jules  and  wounded  him,  then  cut  off  the 
poor  Frenchman's  ears,  and  finally  put  him  to 
death  by  slow  and  cruel  tortures  of  the  knife. 
After  drying  the  ears  of  poor  Jules,  the  monster 
attached  them  to  his  watch-chain,  where  he  wore 
them  as  a  fulfillment  of  his  terrible  threat,  and  as 

a  waruiog  to  all  who  dared  oppose  him."     Some 

'      6 


66  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

years  afterwards  Slade  came  to  a  violent  death. 
"  His  cold-blooded  murders  and  desperate  deeds 
became  too  terrible  to  be  borne,  even  by  men 
whose  lives  had  long  become  inured  to  scenes  of 
bloodshed,  and  he  was  hanged,  as  he  deserved  to 
be,  by  a  vigilance  committee/'*  Whenever  we 
think  of  Julesburg,  we  think  of  the  terrible 
tragedy  connected  with  its  early  history. 

From  where  Julesburg  now  stands,  we  crossed 
over  to  the  North  Platte.  Shortly  after  reaching 
the  valley  of  this  stream,  we  came  in  sight  of 
Chimney  Rock.  The  atmosphere  is  so  pure  and 
clear  that  objects  seem  much  nearer  than  they 
really  are,  and  on  this  account  we  were  often 
greatly  deceived  in  the  distance  between  us  and 
certain  objects  in  full  view.  Chimney  Rock 
seemed  at  first  sight  not  more  than  ten  miles 
away,  when  in  reality  it  was  more  than  fifty  miles 
away.  When  we  first  came  in  sight  of  it,  we 
were  traveling  almost  due  west,  and  this  lone  col- 
umn seemed  to  rise  up  out  of  the  prairie  away  to 
the  southwest.  We  traveled  a  whole  day  before 
we  came  directly  opposite  to  it,  and  then  traveled 
nearly  two  days  before  it  faded  entirely  from  our 
view.  Chimney  Rock  is  a  pillar,  resting  on  a 
solid  rock  foundation,  and  rising  to  so  great  a 
height  in  the  air,  that  it  may  be  seen  for  nearly  a 


'■History    of    Nebraska    (Western    Historical    Com- 
pany), p.  533. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  67 

hundred  miles  away.  It  reminds  one  of  Cleo- 
patra's needle  and  the  obelisks  of  Egypt.  For 
ages  around  it  the  wild  storms  have  swept;  for 
generations  it  has  looked  upon  the  buffalo  ranging 
with  delight  over  the  grassy  prairies.  Within  its 
view  many  a  bloody  Indian  battle  has  doubtless 
been  fought,  and  many  an  Indian  town  has 
arisen,  flourished,  and  passed  away.  It  has 
watched  the  centuries  come  and  go,  and  many 
wonderful  scenes  have. transpired  under  its  gaze, 
and  still  it  stands  in  all  its  solitary  loneliness. 

Shortly  after  Chimney  Rock  faded  from  sight. 
Court-house  Rock  rose  in  view.  Court-house 
Rock  was  about  the  same  distance  as  Chimney 
Rock  from  the  road,  although  it  seemed  very  much 
nearer.  It  is  several  acres  square,  rising  to  an 
immense  height,  and  looking  very  much  like  a 
massive  court-house,  standing  alone  on  the  dreary 
prairie,  hence  the  name.  The  stone  of  both 
Chimney  and  Court-house  Rock  is  soft,  and  they 
are  rapidly  yielding  to  the  gnawing  tooth  of  time. 

The  valley  of  the  Platte,  in  the  spring  and 
early  part  of  the  summer,  was  the  grazing  ground 
for  the  buffaloes.  The  grass  came  earlier  in  this 
valley  than  on  the  bluifs  and  uplands,  hence  im- 
mense droves  of  buffalo  congregated  along  this 
stream.  It  is  hard  for  any  one  now  to  imagine 
the  vast  numbers  that  gathered  along  this  great 
valley.     We  have  seen  the  valley  literally  black 


68  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

with  them  for  miles  and  miles  in  almost  every 
direction.  I  am  perfectly  safe  in  saying  I  have 
seen  in  one  herd  many  millions.  And  this  scene 
was  repeated  day  after  day  as  we  traveled  up  this 
river.  A  buifalo  stampede  was  a  most  terrible 
and  dangerous  thing.  A  frightened  drove  of  these 
wild  animals  running  at  full  speed  swept  every- 
thing before  them ;  and  woe  betide  the  horses  and 
cattle  of  the  emigrants  that  happened  to  be  in 
their  path ;  they  were  swallowed  up  in  the  herd, 
carried  away,  and  perhaps  never  seen  or  heard 
from  again.  Many  emigrants  lost  their  teams  in 
this  way.  The  noise  of  a  drove  of  buffaloes  on  a 
stampede  was  like  the  continuous  roll  of  distant 
thunder.  The  only  safety  for  a  train  of  emi- 
grants, on  the  approach  of  a  drove  of  buffaloes 
coming  at  full  speed,  was  to  drive  the  wagons 
into  a  circle,  make  a  strong  corral,  putting  all  the 
cattle  and  horses  on  the  inside.  The  buffaloes, 
however,  much  more  rapidly  than  the  Indians, 
are  becoming  extinct,  \yhen  we  crossed  the 
plains,  forty  years  ago,  it  was  not  known  how 
many  buffaloes  there  were.  There  were  many, 
many  millions.  The  Great  Platte  Valley  was  alive 
with  them,  and  the  bluffs  and  prairies,  north  and 
south,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  were  covered  with 
these  shaggy  cattle  of  the  Plains. 

Twenty  years  ago,  according  to  the  authority 
of  the    Smithsonian    Institute    of    Washington, 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  69 

there  were  only  eight  millions  of  buffaloes  roam- 
ing over  the  plains  and  mountains  of  the  Far 
West.  To-day  there  are  but  a  few  hundred. 
There  never  has  been  such  an  extermination  of 
any  large  quadruped ;  it  could  not  have  been  more 
successful  if  especially  planned.  Had  the  buffalo 
been  a  wild  animal,  doing  immense  damage  to 
person  and  property,  he  could  not  have  been 
hunted  down  and  uselessly  and  wantonly  slaugh- 
tered with  more  avidity.  Only  eighty-five  head 
of  wild  buffaloes  now  remain;  three  hundred  and 
four  are  alive  in  captivity,  and  about  two  hun- 
dred ar^  under  the  protection  of  the  Government 
in  Yellowstone  Park.  It  is  said  that  there  are 
about  five  hundred  and  fifty  head  in  the  British 
possessions,  north  of  Montana.  There  is  a  remote 
possibility  that  the  stock  may  be  perpetuated, 
and  a  small  number  kept  alive  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park  and  different  zoological  gardens.  But  the 
wild  buffalo  has  lost  his  place,  and  has  become  a 
rarity  in  the  animal  kingdom.  The  work  of  ex- 
termination has  been  carried  on  principally  for 
the  hides.  Regular  buffalo-killing  parties  were  or- 
ganized, and  the  animals  hunted  down  and  shot. 
Their  hides  would  be  taken  off,  and  sold  at  the 
nearest  post-trader\s  for  seventy-five  cents  or  a 
dollar.  The  war  of  extermination  was  waged 
vigorously  and  most  effectively,  and  it  was  thought 
for  a  long  time  that  it  was  impossible  ever  to  ex- 


70  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

tinguish  tbe  stock.  It  has  only  been  a  few  years 
since  the  danger  of  the  species  becoming  extinct 
forced  itself  upon  those  who  are  interested  in 
natural  history,  and  since  then  there  has  been  a 
scramble  to  obtain  specimens  for  zoological  parks 
and  menageries.  The  Government  has  also  rec- 
ognized the  importance  of  perpetuating  the  spe- 
cies, and  it  has  secured  a  number  and  placed  them 
in  the  Yellowstone  Park  for  safe  keeping  and 
the  perpetuation  of  the  stock.  It  is  deplorable 
that  the  Government  did  not  take  steps  long  ago 
to  stop  the  wholesale  slaughter  of  these  noble 
animals. 

We  followed  the  North  Platte  until  we  reached 
Fort  Laramie.  Here  we  found  a  number  of 
United  States  troops  stationed.  From  this  point 
we  crossed  over  the  ^'  Black  Hills/'  and,  after 
several  days'  travel  over  a  very  rough  and  rugged 
road,  struck  the  Sweet  Water.  This  we  found 
to  be  a  most  beautiful  stream,  and  its  waters  as 
delightful  as  its  name  indicates.  The  Sweet  Water 
winds  its  way  down  a  most  beautiful  valley,  which 
we  found  covered  with  heavy,  tender,  and  most 
nutritious  grass.  This  thrifty  and  tender  grass 
our  horses  ate  with  a  relish,  which  did  us  good 
to  behold.  Soon  after  reaching  this  stream  we 
came  to  Independence  Rock,  which  stands  near 
the  bank  of  the  river,  overlooking  the  whole  sur- 
rounding country.     Independence  Rock  is  a  great 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  71 

bowlder,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right,  covering 
thirteen  acres,  and  over  one  hundred  feet  high. 
At  one  place,  on  the  west  side,  this  rock  could, 
with  some  difficulty,  be  scaled.  The  ascent  was 
quite  steep,  yet  by  dint  of  effort  a  man  could 
climb  to  the  top.  We  clambered  up  to  the  sum- 
mit of  this  wonderful  bowlder,  and  gazed  with 
delight  upon  the  romantic  scenery  which  spread  in 
every  direction  before  us.  After  remaining  for  a 
short  time,  having  taken  in  the  magnificent  view, 
we  saw  a  large  snake  crawling  up  out  of  one  of 
the  crevices  of  the  rock ;  in  a  little  while  another 
one  made  his  appearance.  As  we  had  no  desire 
whatever  to  see  any  more,  never  having  had  any 
peculiar  love  for  the  serpentine  race,  we  made  our 
descent  much  quicker  than  we  had  made  our  as- 
cent, and  left  the  snakes  in  full  possession. 

Just  beyond  this  and  in  full  view  was  Devil's 
Gap.  This  is  an  opening  about  thirty  feet  wide, 
through  a  mountain  of  solid  rock.  Through  this 
opening  the  Sweet  Water  rushes  at  the  rate  of 
some  fifty  miles  an  hour.  The  walls  on  both 
sides  are  perpendicular,  and  two  hundred  feet 
high.  This  opening  looks  very  much  like  a  work 
of  art,  as  though  it  had  been  made  by  human 
hands  to  form  a  channel  for  the  beautiful  river. 
This  marvelous  channel  was  cut  through  this 
mountain  of  solid  rock  not  by  human  but  divine 
hands.     In  this  gap,  on  one  side  of  the  stream, 


72  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

near  the  surface  of  the  ^^rater,  is  a  shelf  of  rock,  and 
over  this  mountain,  near  the  precipice,  was  a  pre- 
cipitious  foot-path.  Up  this  path,  and  over  this 
rough  mountain,  many  emigrants  traveled  on  foot. 
We  preferred  to  go  with  our  teams  some  distance 
to  the  south-east,  where  there  was  a  good  wagon- 
road,  rather  than  to  attempt  to  scale  the  danger- 
ous mountain  on  foot.  The  year  previous  a  man 
passed  up  this  path  to  the  summit,  and,  looking 
down  into  the  stream  two  hundred  feet  below 
him,  became  dizzy  and  fell  into  the  awful  chasm,  his 
body  striking  the  rocky  shelf  below.  His  friends 
could  not  possibly  recover  his  body,  for  the  waters 
rush  through  the  narrow  and  rocky  channel  like 
the  dashing  Avaters  of  a  raging  cataract.  I  did 
not  see  them ;  but  others  who  did,  said  the  skull 
and  bones  of  the  poor  man  were  distinctly  visible 
from  the  top  of  the  precipice. 

Up  this  stream  we  traveled  until  we  reached 
the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  but  so  grad- 
ual was  the  ascent  that  we  were  not  aware  we 
were  on  the  summit  until  we  saw  a  small  rivulet 
flowing  to  the  west.  We  reached  this  point  Sat- 
urday afternoon,  July  3,  1850.  Here,  in  this 
bleak  and  desolate  place,  some  twelve  thousand 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  we  camped  and 
remained  over  Sabbath,  celebrating  the  Fourth 
of  July,  at  an  altitude  far  above  any  on 
which  we  had  ever  been  before.     The  wind  blew 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  73 

a  stiff  gale  ;  the  weather  was  cold,  and  it  snowed 
at  intervals  during  the  whole  day.  We  found 
some  very  good  bunch-grass  for  our  horses,  and  to 
keep  ourselves  warm,  and  while  away  the  time, 
we  cut  sage-brush,  and  kept  a  good  fire  going  by 
the  side  of  a  great  rock,  which  served  as  a  shelter 
from  the  fierce  wind.  To  the  right  and  left  of  us, 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  extend,  rose  mountain- 
peak  above  mountain-peak  in  solitary  grandeur, 
crowned  with  eternal  snow.  The  scene,  though 
sublime,  was  at  the  same  time  a  dreary  and  deso- 
late one.  While  one  enjoys  such  scenes  for  a 
little  while,  they  soon  become  monotonous,  and 
one  longs  for  a  more  genial  clime  and  more  pleas- 
ant objects  on  which  to  gaze.  From  the  summit 
of  these  everlasting  hills  we  began  to  descend 
slowly  to  the  west.  We  soon  reached  Green 
River,  a  deep  and  rapid  stream,  but  not  very 
wide.  There  was  neither  bridge  nor  ferry,  and 
the  water  was  too  deep  to  ford ;  so  we  made  a  ferry- 
boat of  a  wagon-box,  took  our  wagons  to  pieces, 
ferried  them  over  one  after  another  with  our 
plunder,  and  swam  with  our  horses  across  the 
river.  Then  we  put  together  our  wagons,  re- 
loaded our  traps,  and  after  a  hard  day's  work  in 
getting  across,  started  again  on  our  way  rejoicing. 
The  next  river  of  importance  was  Bear  River. 
From  here  our  journey  was  uneventful  until  we 
reached  the  Humboldt   River.     And   of  all  the 

7 


74  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

streams  we  ever  saw  or  read  of,  this  is  the  most 
loathsome.  From  its  head-waters  to  its  mouth — 
a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles — where  it  sinks 
away  in  the  sand,  there  is  not  a  single  redeeming 
trait.  It  is  repulsive,  and  only  repulsive,  from 
one  end  to  the  other.  The  Humboldt  River 
runs  through  a  valley  of  alkali,  and  the  waters 
of  this  stream,  as  well  as  the  springs  and  rivulets 
that  flow  into  it,  are  all  strongly  impregnated 
with  this  poison.  And  yet,  for  two  weeks,  we 
had  to  wash  in  these  waters,  cook  with  them,  and 
even  drink  them.  They  had  a  peculiarly  sicken- 
ing and  slippery  taste  that  we  remember  dis- 
tinctly, though  forty  years  have  passed  since  we 
drank  them.  The  dust  in  the  roads  was  like 
light-colored  ashes  and  as  fine  as  flour,  and  from 
one  to  six  inches  deep.  The  great  clouds  of  this 
dust  and  the  sweltering  heat,  at  times,  almost 
completely  overcame  us.  We  breathed  the  alkali, 
and  ate  the  alkali,  and  drank  the  alkali,  and  lay 
down  in  the  alkali,  until  our  whole  systems  were 
co4|apletely  saturated  with  the  loathsome  minerals. 

Twice  a  day  we  had  to  swim  this  stream,  cut 
grass  and  float  it  over  for  our  horses,  as  there  was 
no  grass  on  the  side  of  the  river  we  traveled. 

The  Humboldt  is  a  rapid  stream  and  full  of 
dangerous  whirlpools.  In  these,  many  a  poor 
traveler  has  lost  his  life.  A  man  might  be  ever 
so  good  a  swimmer,  yet,  if  he  got  in  one  of  these. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS,  75 

he  was  sure  to  be  drawn  under  and  drowned. 
We  saw  new-made  graven  all  along  this  river; 
and  on  the  head-board  of  almost  every  grave  was 
the  sad  word,  ^^  Drowned/'  Along  the  pathway 
of  life  the  whirlpools  of  sin  are  numerous,  and 
many  a  man,  who  thought  himself  strong  to  resist 
evil  of  every  kind,  in  an  unguarded  moment  has 
been  drawn  in  and  lost.  "  Let  him  that  thinketh 
he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 

After  a  number  of  days  of  weary  and  painful 
travel,  we  reached  the  mouth  of  this  river,  which 
we  found  to  be  an  anomaly.  This  stream  does 
not  empty  its  waters  into  any  other  body  of 
water,  as  other  streams  do,  but  sinks  away  in  the 
sand,  at  the  edge  of  a  sandy  desert,  seventy-five 
miles  in  width.  The  waters  of  this  river  at  its 
mouth  spread  out  over  a  spongy  marsh,  some  fif- 
teen miles  wide  and  thirty  miles  long.  Through 
this  spongy,  sandy  soil,  the  waters  of  the  Hum- 
boldt sink  away. 

At  this  point  we  camped,  rested  twenty-four 
hours,  and  made  preparation  for  crossing  the  des- 
ert. At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  broke 
camp,  left  the  v^alley,  and  ascending  a  low  range 
of  hills,  realized  we  were  on  the  desolate,  dan- 
gerous, and  sandy  desert.  We  did  not  stop  from 
the  time  we  broke  camp  until  we  reached  the 
other  side.  We  traveled  all  night,  and  the  next 
day,   at    three    o'clock,    reached    Carson    River. 


76  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

This  sandy  desert,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Hum- 
boldt to  the  Carson  Riyer — a  distance  of  seventy- 
five  miles — was  literally  strewn  with  wagons, 
goods,  and  the  bodies  of  horses,  mules,  and  oxen. 
Horses  and  mules  would  lie  down  and  die  in 
their  harness  while  hitched  to  their  wagons,  and 
whole  teams  of  oxen,  from  two  to  six  yoke, 
would  lie  down  and  die  in  their  yokes.  Others 
would  wander  away  a  short  distance  from  the 
road,  as  if  in  search  of  water,  but  overcome  with 
heat,  would  soon  give  up  in  despair,  and  sink 
down  to  die  at  the  hands  of  this  most  terrible  of 
all  tyrants — thirst. 

If  these  carcasses  had  been  placed  together  in 
a  row,  we  could  have  walked  on  dead  animals 
from  one  side  of  the  desert  to  the  other.  But  not 
only  did  we  see  scattered  upon  the  burning  sands 
of  this  desert,  Avagons,  goods,  clothing,  and  plun- 
der of  almost  every  kind,  and  the  carcasses  of 
horses,  mules,  and  oxen;  but,  ever  and  anon,  a 
sandy  mound  marked  the  resting-place  of  some 
poor  emigrant,  who  had  fallen  a  victim  to  the 
ravages  of  thirst  or  disease.  On  this  desert  our 
last  horse  gave  out,  and  my  brother  and  I  had  to 
leave  him  to  die.  Tears  unbidden  stole  down  our 
cheeks  as  we  said  good-bye  to  faithful  Dick.  He 
had  done  all  he  could  for  us.  He  could  go  no 
further.  He  was  worn  out.  The  last,  sad  look 
of  the   faithful   horse   we   remember   still.     Mr. 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  77 

Wesley  thinks  all  animals  will  be  resurrected. 
We  think  they  ought  to  be,  and  rewarded  for 
their  works  and  sufferings  here.  If  they  are, 
faithful  Dick  will  have  a  rich  reward. 

Our  provisions,  too,  were  gone;  so  we  each 
took  a  couple  of  blankets,  rolled  them  up,  put 
them  on  our  shoulders — as  the  soldier  carries  his 
knapsack — and  trudged  away  on  foot.  After 
traveling  all  night,  the  next  morning  the  sun 
rose  clear  and  bright,  and  as  he  climbed  the 
heavens,  the  heat  became  more  and  more  intense, 
and  the  sands  beneath  our  feet  hotter  and  hotter. 
Stretching  away  in  every  direction,  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  extend,  was  a  vast,  sandy  plain,  and 
the  heat  arising  from  this  sandy  plain  was  like  the 
heat  from  a  burning  furnace.  About  noon  our 
water  gave  out.  We  quickened  our  steps,  know- 
ing well  that  no  time  could  be  lost  without  en- 
dangering our  lives.  On  and  on,  we  pressed  our 
weary  way,  growing  more  and  more  fatigued,  and 
our  thirst  becoming  more  and  more  severe.  I 
never  shall  forget  that  day.  How  every  nerve 
was  taxed  to  its  utmost!  How  our  eager  eyes 
were  strained,  time  and  again,  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  trees  skirting  the  river  whose  waters  were 
to  slake  our  thirst,  and  whose  green  banks  were 
to  furnish  rest  for  our  weary  bodies!  I  never 
shall  forget  the  fear  and  anxiety  we  felt  as  the 
hours  passed   slowly  away.     Many  of  our  com- 


78  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

rades  sank  by  the  wayside,  and  we  knew  not  how 
soon  we  must  succumb  to  the  heat,  sink  down, 
and  die  upon  the  burning  sands.  About  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  waving  trees  along 
the  desired  stream  rose  in  view.  What  a  thrill 
of  joy  went  coursing  through  every  avenue  of  the 
soul  as  the  beautiful  scene  rose  before  us!  A 
few  moments  more  and  we  sat  down  by  that 
limpid  stream,  and  drank  and  drank  and  drank 
of  its  clear,  cold  waters,  until  we  were  perfectly 
satisfied;  then  we  threw  our  weary  bodies  on  the 
green  grass,  beneath  the  shade  of  a  large  tree, 
and  never  was  rest  more  sweet!  After  having 
slaked  our  thirst  with  these  cooling  waters,  and 
rested  for  a  little  while,  we  went  to  a  ranch  near 
by,  kept  by  a  Californian,  and  bought  some  food — 
a  few  small,  hard  biscuits,  made  of  flour  and 
water — paying  one  dollar  and  a  half  each.  These 
we  ate  with  a  relish;  then  resumed  our  journey. 
We  were  then  three  hundred  miles  from  the  mines ; 
and  from  this  on  there  were  stations  every  few 
miles,  where  provisions  could  be  had  by  paying 
for  them.  The  next  station  we  reached  we  bought 
a  little  flour,  paying  two  dollars  per  pound,  and 
a  little  bacon  at  the  same  price.  With  the  flour 
and  some  water  and  salt  we  made  pancakes,  and, 
frying  the  meat,  used  the  gravy  on  the  cakes,  and 
they  tasted  most  delicious.  While  on  the  Plains 
and  in  California,  however,  we  ate  enough  pan- 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  79 

cakes  to  last  a  life-time.  I  have  never  had  any 
desire  for  pancakes  since,  and  do  not  think  I  ever 
shall.  Being  short  of  money,  we  only  ate  about 
one-half  as  much  as  our  appetites  craved.  We 
lived  on  half  rations  from  this  on,  until  we 
reached  the  end  of  our  journey,  which  we  did  in 
six  days,  walking  fifty  miles  a  day  from  the  time 
we  left  the  desert  until  we  reached  the  mines. 
Having  walked  for  the  past  three  months  we  were 
hardened  to  it,  and  could  march  from  daylight 
until  dark  without  being  much  wearied.  We 
walked  faster  than  any  of  the  teams  on  the  road, 
passing  horse,  mule,  and  ox  teams,  and  leaving 
everything  behind  us.  Many  were  worse  off  than 
we.  They  were  not  only  without  provisions,  but 
without  money.  Many  ate  the  flesh  of  mules  and 
horses  that  had  died  of  overwork  and  starvation, 
and  were  glad  to  get  that  in  order  to  keep  them 
alive.  Eternity  alone  will  reveal  the  suiferings 
of  many  while  traveling  over  those  plains  in  quest 
of  gold. 

If  men  would  do  and  suffer  as  much  for  God 
and  humanity  as  they  do  for  money,  it  would  not 
be  long  until  the  millennial  glory  would  break 
over  the  world. 

Near  the  head  of  Carson  River  we  struck 
what  was  called  the  "Big  Canyon."  Up  this 
canyon  the  road  leads  toward  the  summit  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountains.     This  canyon  we  found 


80  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

to  be  very  narrow,  barely  wide  enough  for  one 
wagon  to  pass.  The  road  was  very  rough  and 
rocky,  and  part  of  the  way  we  had  to  travel  in  a 
little  brook  that  came  leaping  and  dashing  down 
the  mountain  gorge.  On  either  side  rose,  almost 
perpendicular,  the  rocky  cliffs  from  one  hundred 
to  a  thousand  feet,  with  here  and  there  a  tree 
growing  out  from  some  crevice,  and  reaching  up 
its  arms  as  if  anxious  to  climb  up  to  where  it 
could  behold  the  rays  of  the  beautiful  sun. 

On  and  up  this  gloomy  defile  we  continued  to 
press  our  way,  until  at  length  we  passed  out  into 
an  open  space,  and  supposed  we  saw  just  before 
us  the  summit.  A  few  moments  afterwards,  how- 
ever, we  reached  the  supposed  summit;  but,  alas ! 
were  disappointed,  for  far  above  and  beyond  us 
rose  another  mountain.  "  That,'^  we  said,  "surely 
must  be  the  summit.^'  In  a  few  hours  we 
reached  its  peak,  and  w^ere  again  disappointed; 
for  far  away  and  above  us  rose  another  mountain- 
peak,  and  away  beyond  and  above  that  still  an- 
other. Mountains  were  piled  on  mountains  until 
they  passed  up  above  the  clouds,  and  bathed  their 
snowy  summits  in  the  vaulted  blue.  Onward  and 
upward  we  continued  to  climb,  until  we,  too, 
passed  the  clouds,  and  at  last  stood  upon  the 
white  crest  of  the  most  majestic  mountain  range 
on  the  American  Continent,  while  the  broad  and 
beautiful  California  Valley  for  hundreds  of  miles 


ACROSS  THE  PLAINS.  81 

swept  before  us,  and  still  farther  on  tlie  blue 
waters  of  the  Pacific  rolled  in  endless  succession 
their  mighty  billows. 

In  ascending  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains, 
mountain-peak  rises  above  mountain-peak.  The 
sweep  of  vision  widens,  the  sublimity  and  beauty 
of  the  scene  deepens,  the  grandeur  becomes  more 
and  more  impressive;  and  when  you  have  reached 
the  highest  peak,  and  everything  earthly  is  be- 
low, you  are  awed  and  almost  overwhelmed  with 
the  splendor  of  the  scene.  I  never  shall  forget 
how  I  felt  when  I  stood  upon  Sierra  Nevada's 
snow-capped  summit.  To  the  west  was  the  Sac- 
ramento Valley;  to  the  easi^  was  the  beautiful 
Nevada;  to  the  north  and  to  the  south,  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  extend,  were  the  rock-ribbed  and 
snow-crowned  mountains,  glittering  and  flashing 
in  eternal  sunshine.  The  unfading  impression  of 
that  scene  has  been  Avith  me  for  forty  years. 

As  we  stood  upon  this  mountain-top,  with  the 
most  of  our  journey  behind  us,  and  the  end  in 
full  view,  I  have  thought  we  felt  a  little  as  the 
ten  thousand  Greeks  under  Xenophon  did,  when, 
after  traveling  for  twenty-three  hundred  miles 
through  the  midst  of  their  enemies,  suffering  for 
food,  water,  and  raiment,  they  at  length  ascended 
a  mountain  from  which  they  could  behold  the 
Black  Sea,  on  the  shores  of  which  stood  a  large 
number  of  Greek  cities.     In  raptures  of  joy  they 


82  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

shouted,  "The  sea!  the  sea!'^  and  the  very  heav- 
ens resounded  with  their  joyful  acclamations. 
From  this  lofty  summit  we  descended,  and  in  a 
short  time  struck  Weaverville,  a  mining  town, 
and  the  end  of  our  long  journey  was  reached. 


CALIFORNIA  IN  1850-52.  83 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CALIFORNIA  IN  1850-52. 

Disappointed  Gold-seekehs  —  Long  Illness  —  Doctor 
Bill  —  Wickedness  Rampant  —  Lynch  Law  —  Sum- 
mary Punishment  the  Palladium  of  the  People — 
Vigilance  Committees — Bold  Robbery — The  Victim 
captured  and  hanged. 

WHEN  we  reached  Weaverville  we  were  dis- 
appointed. Things  were  not  as  we  ex- 
pected to  find  them.  Our  expectations  had  been 
entirely  too  high;  gold  could  by  no  means  be 
picked  up  by  the  handful.  Others  were  much 
worse  disappointed  than  we.  On  every  hand  we 
saw  the  sad  countenance  and  the  dejected  spirit. 
From  many  hope  seemed  to  have  taken  its  flight, 
and  despair  settled  down  upon  them.  The  pros- 
pect of  a  fortune  ahead  had  nerved  the  drooping 
spirit,  and  kept  up  the  suffering  emigrant  during 
his  long  and  weary  journey  until  he  reached  the 
goal  where  the  supposed  fortune  lay.  But  when 
the  journey's  end  was  reached,  instead  of  stum- 
bling over  nuggets  of  gold  and  picking  up  the 
yellow  dust  by  the  handful,  many  were  found 
working  for  their  board,  and  many  more  were 
unable  to  find  employment  even  for  that.     Not  a 


84         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

few  were  discouraged,  and  gave  up  in  despair; 
others  went  to  San  Francisco,  worked  their  way 
home  on  sail-vessels,  going  round  Cape  Horn,  a 
trip  which  took  them  six  months  to  make.  Had 
they  not  been  so  hasty  in  their  conclusions,  and 
so  easily  discouraged,  they  might  have  saved 
this  long  and  painful  journey.  Almost  any- 
where away  from  Weaverville  ordinary  wages 
commanded  one  hundred  dollars  per  month.  In 
two  months  they  could  have  earned  enough  to 
take  them  home  by  the  way  of  the  Isthmus, 
and  thus  saved  themselves  three  months  of  slav- 
ish toil. 

By  the  roadside,  a  few  miles  west  of  Weaver- 
ville,  sat  a  middle-aged  man,  crying.  A  traveler 
said  to  him:  "What's  the  matter?''  "O,"  said 
the  man,  "  I  am  three  thousand  miles  from  my 
wife  and  children.  I  have  no  money,  can  get 
nothing  to  do.  I  shall  never  see  my  loved  ones 
again."  And  he  boo-hooed  right  out,  and  cried 
as  though  his  heart  would  break.  He  was  only 
one  of  hundreds.  Of  the  many  thousands  who 
reached  the  "  New  El  Dorado,"  only  a  few  were 
successful.  The  great  majority  were  bitterly  dis- 
appointed. 

My  brother  and  I  went  some  twenty  miles 
southwest  of  Weaverville,  where  we  worked  at 
mining  until  October,  making  enough  during  that 
time  to  purchase  our  winter  supplies.     Then  we 


CALIFORNIA  IN  1850-52.  85 

went  to  Logtown,  bought  a  cabin,  and  took  up  a 
miner's  claim.  Here  we  worked  until  the  next 
summer,  when  we  went  up  on  the  south  fork  of 
the  American  River.  The  next  day  after  reach- 
ing this  point  I  was  taken  very  violently  with 
erysipelas  in  its  most  malignant  form,  and  for  six 
weeks  was  confined  to  my  cot,  for  two  weeks  be- 
ing delirious  and  entirely  blind.  My  face  and 
head  were  swollen  twice  their  usual  size.  When 
I  began  to  recover,  my  hair  all  came  out,  leaving 
my  scalp  as  bare  as  the  palm  of  my  hand.  For 
several  days  the  doctor  said  I  could  not  live,  de- 
claring me  beyond  the  power  of  medical  skill. 
Providence  ordered  it  otherwise,  however,  and  I 
was  restored.  I  have  always  thought  my  re- 
covery from  that  terrible  disease  was  owing,  under 
God,  to  the  kind  care  and  attention  of  the  faith- 
ful brother,  who  watched  over  me  night  and  day 
with  the  tenderness  and  anxious  solicitude  of  a 
mother. 

I  was  then  irreligious,  and  felt  that  if  I  died 
I  should  be  lost  forever.  O,  the  terrible  feeling 
of  a  soul  dying  "without  God  and  without  hope!" 
No  language  can  possibly  describe  such  feelings. 
"The  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard,"  but  the 
way  of  the  Christian  is  delightful.  It  is  a  lovely, 
smooth,  sunny  pathway.  I  know  it  from  heart- 
felt experience.  "His  ways  are  ways  of  pleas- 
antness, and  all  his  paths  are  peace." 


86  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

As  soon  as  I  began  to  recover,  my  brother 
Albert  was  taken  down  with  the  same  dreadful 
disease,  accompanied  with  typhoid  fever,  and  for 
six  weeks  was  confined  to  his  cot,  during  which 
time  he  passed  as  near  death^s  door  as  I  had 
done.  Providence,  however,  raised  him  up  also. 
Our  doctor^s  bill  amounted  to  the  small  sum  of 
fourteen  hundred  dollars!  But  the  doctor,  being 
a  very  kind-hearted  man,  was  willing  to  take  all 
the  money  ive  had,  and  give  us  a  receipt  in  full. 
We  paid  him  three  hundred  dollars,  took  his  re- 
ceipt, and  squared  accounts. 

We  then  returned  to  Logtown,  where  we  re- 
mained until  we  left  the  State.  California  was 
then  new,  and  wickedness  of  every  kind  was 
rampant.  The  Sabbath  was  a  day  of  festivity  and 
hilarity.  It  was  the  great  day  of  business  for 
the  gambler,  the  saloon-keeper,  the  auctioneer, 
the  merchant,  and  the  miner.  The  merchant 
made  his  greatest  sales  on  the  Sabbath;  the 
gambler  made  his  largest  hauls  from  the  crude 
and  unsuspecting  miner  on  the  Sabbath ;  the 
houses  w^hose  ^*  doors  take  hold  on  hell "  were 
thronged  with  the  largest  number  of  visitors  on 
the  Sabbath ;  the  miner  washed  his  clothes,  pre- 
pared wood,  and  purchased  provisions  for  the  com- 
ing week  on  the  Sabbath ;  and  each  seemed  to  vie 
with  the  other  in  acts  of  crime  and  debauchery 
on  the  day   belonging   to   God    alone.     What   a 


CALIFORNIA  ZZf  isms^^  «i 

record  was  made  for  eternity  on  the  Sabbath-day 
in  the  early  history  of  California! 

In  the  mining  districts  pretty  good  order  pre- 
vailed. The  people  were  generally  law-abiding; 
for  citizens  took  the  law  into  their  own  hands. 
The  penalty  for  petit  larceny  was  horsewhipping; 
the  penalty  for  horse-stealing  was  death. 

A  man  was  tried  and  convicted  in  Logtown  by 
the  citizens  for  stealing  a  pair  of  boots.  He  was 
sentenced  to  thirty-nine  lashes.  He  was  stripped 
to  the  waist,  his  hands  tied  together  around  a 
small  tree,  and  as  he  thus  hugged  the  tree  a  man 
plied  the  lash.  Every  stroke  of  the  whip  brought 
the  blood,  from  the  neck  to  the  waist.  After  a 
few  lashes  had  been  given,  the  agony  of  the  poor 
man  was  so  great  that  in  endeavoring  to  get  away 
he  tore  the  flesh  from  his  breast  on  the  rough 
bark  of  the  tree ;  and  the  blood  streaming  from 
his  bleeding  back  and  lacerated  breast,  and  his 
deep  groans  of  agony,  made  me  sick  at  heart,  and 
I  turned  away  from  the  dreadful  scene.  Horse- 
whipping was  a  terrible  penalty  for  crime.  A 
horse-thief  was  hanged  to  the  limb  of  the  nearest 
tree,  and  his  dangling  body  struck  terror  to  the 
would-be  perpetrators  of  crime. 

This  summary  punishment  of  crime  in  the 
early  settlement  of  California  brought  to  the 
miner  and  his  property  almost  perfect  safety. 
We   never  felt   more   secure  in   our    lives   than 


88  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

when  we  slept  under  a  large  pine-tree  by  the 
roadside  near  our  claim,  with  the  gold  that  we 
Lad  washed  out  the  day  previous  in  the  pan, 
standing  where  every  passer-by  could  see  it.  We 
made  no  effort  to  hide  anything,  for  we  felt  that 
everything  was  safe.  The  thief  knew  what  a 
dangerous  thing  it  was  to  steal  from  the  miner. 

Some  may  seem  surprised  that  a  horse-thief 
should  be  hanged,  when  his  crime  is  merely  a 
question  of  property.  "  The  term  horse-thief,^' 
as  one  has  justly  remarked,  "  is  really  generic,  or  a 
synonym  for  a  great  variety  of  criminals.  He  is 
the  thief  of  any  movable  property,  a  highway- 
man, a  bandit,  a  murderer,  at  his  convenience, 
defiant  of  government,  an  outlaw,  and  the  enemy, 
specific  and  in  general,  of  society.  The  execution  of 
a  horse-thief,  therefore,  is  ordinarily  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice  in  gross,  and  not  in  severalty  of 
crimes.'^ 

The  Vigilance  Committees  of  San  Francisco 
and  Sacramento  struck  terror  to  the  roughs,  and 
saved  those  cities  from  the  complete  control  of 
thieves,  gamblers,  and  cut- throats. 

The  Vigilance  Committee  of  San  Francisco 
was  organized  in  1851.  The  city  had  at  that 
time  about  fifty  thousand  inhabitants.  While 
there  were  many  of  the  very  best  class  of  citizens 
in  the  city,  the  majority  were  among  the  vilest. 
The  roughs  had  their  way   in  everything.     The 


CALIFORNIA  IN  1850-53.  89 

fame  of  the  gold-mines  had  brought  all  sorts  of 
people  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  San  Fran- 
cisco was  the  rendezvous  of  the  worst  class  of 
people  that  ever  infested  any  city.  The  gamblers 
of  the  world  seemed  congregated  here,  and  they 
plied  their  vocation  without  molestation  from 
municipal  authorities.  A  small  tent  on  one  of 
the  principal  streets  rented,  it  was  said,  for  forty 
thousand  dollars  a  year  for  gambling  purposes. 

Nearly  the  whole  business  part  of  the  city  was 
swept  away  by  several  great  conflagrations. 
These  conflagrations  were  the  work  of  incendiaries, 
who  had  in  view  plunder  alone.  The  best  class 
of  citizens  felt  that  neither  life  nor  property  was 
safe.  The  administrators  of  law  afforded  them 
no  protection  whatever.  The  police  officers,  the 
judges,  and  prosecuting  attorneys,  when  they  were 
not  the  tools  of  gamblers  and  thugs,  were  weak 
and  inefficient.  Every  means  of  preventing 
crime  and  bringing  criminals  to  direct  punishment 
had  failed.  The  better  class  felt  that  something 
must  be  done,  hence  the  Vigilance  Committee 
was  organized.  This  committee  executed  but  few 
men.  Its  main  work  was  to  banish  desperadoes, 
outlaws,  and  rascals.  Its  work  was  summary, 
and  had  a  most  happy  and  desirable  effect,  and 
soon  restored  law  and  order. 

At  a  later  date,  the  old  Vigilance  Committee 
of  1851  was  again  called  into  requisition.     James 


90  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

King  was  shot  by  James  P.  Casey,  and  died  in  a 
few  days  afterwards.  On  the  same  evening  of  the 
shooting,  the  Vigilance  Committee  of  1851  con- 
vened, and  in  less  that  two  days,  twenty-five 
hundred  names  were  enrolled  on  the  books  of 
the  Vigilance  Committee,  who  pledged  themselves 
to  work  together  for  the  purging  of  the  city  of 
gamblers,  foreign  convicts,  swindlers,  thieves, 
high  and  low,  and  of  villains  generally. 

The  Vigilance  Committee  selected  as  its  head- 
quarters one  of  the  most  prominent  places  of  the 
city,  cleared  the  streets  for  two  blocks,  mounted 
six  brass  pieces,  placed  swivels  loaded  with  grape 
on  the  roof,  and  put  the  streets  under  control  of 
three  hundred  rifles  and  muskets. 

The  excitement  everywhere  was  at  white  heat. 
On  the  roof  of  the  building  used  by  the  Commit- 
tee, a  massive  triangle  was  swung,  and  its  sounds 
could  call  thousands  instantly,  on  an  emergency. 
"  Draymen  stopped  in  the  street,  freed  their  horses, 
mounted,  and  went  clattering  to  the  rendezvous; 
store-keepers  locked  up  hastily,  and  ran ;  clerks 
leaped  over  their  counters;  carpenters  left  the 
shaving  in  the  plane ;  blacksmiths  dropped  the 
hammer  by  the  red-hot  iron  on  the  anvil.  All 
the  city  hurried  to  head-quarters  for  any  sudden 
work.^' 

At  one  of  the  meetings,  one  of  the  speakers  said 
"that  probably  more  than  five  hundred  murders 


CALIFORNIA  IN  1850-52.  91 

had  been  committed  in  California  during  the  pro- 
ceding  year,  yet  not  more  than  five  of  the  perpe- 
trators liad  been  punished  according  to  the  forms 
of  the  law." 

The  newspapers,  the  clergy,  the  people  gener- 
ally, approved  the  formation  of  the  committee. 
William  Taylor,  our  bishop,  now  in  Africa,  was 
in  San  Francisco  at  the  time,  and  witnessed  the 
proceedings  of  the  committee.  He  says :  "  In  the 
administration  of  Lynch-law,  so  far  as  I  have 
known  or  heard,  the  thunderbolt  of  public 
fury  has  always  fallen  only  on  the  head  of  the 
guilty  man,  who,  by  the  enormity  and  palpable 
character  of  his  crimes,  excited  it ;  and  then  not 
till  after  his  guilt  was  proved  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  masses  composing  the  court.  In  propor- 
tion as  the  law  acquires  power  in  California  for 
the  protection  of  the  citizens,  in  that  proportion 
Lynch-law  is  dispensed  with." 

Lynching  in  the  Territories  and  new  States 
comes  in,  and  often  Avorks  admirably,  where  the  law 
is  crude  and  feeble.  But  where  the  court-house 
appears  in  due  dignity  and  power,  Lynch-law  dis- 
appears in  the  shadow.  It  will  come  to  the  front 
on  any  well-grounded  call. 

Summary  punishment  for  crime,  when  guilt  is 
proved  beyond  a  doubt,  is  one  of  the  safeguards 
of  the  people.  It  is  the  palladium  of  the  indi- 
vidual, the  city,  the  State,  the  Nation. 


92  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

We  were  present  and  witnessed  the  trial,  by 
citizens,  of  two  men  charged  with  horse-stealing. 
One  was  a  young  man  about  twenty  years  old. 
The  stolen  horses  were  found  in  his  possession. 
He  pleaded  "not  guilty,'*  and  proved  that  he  had 
been  hired  to  take  care  of  the  horses,  not  know- 
ing they  were  stolen  property.  He  was  acquitted. 
The  other  one  pleaded  "  guilty.*'  He  was  a  large, 
burly  Englishman,  about  forty-five  years  old. 
While  the  people  were  trying  to  decide  what  they 
should  do  with  him,  he  made  his  escape  from  the 
second  story  of  a  large  log  house,  where  he  had 
been  placed  and  guarded.  The  lower  room,  and 
the  yard  all  around  the  house,  was  full  of  people. 
How  he  made  his  escape  no  one  could  tell.  It 
was  a  mystery  to  all.  The  only  solution  to  the 
mystery  was,  that  through  the  influence  of  money, 
he  had  been  spirited  away.  He  had  been  ban- 
ished from  England  to  New  South  Wales  many 
years  previous  for  crime.  New  South  Wales  was 
used  by  the  English  Government  as  a  penal  set- 
tlement from  1788  to  1840.  During  this  time, 
about  fifty-five  thousand  convicts  had  been  sent 
to  that  land,  and  among  them  was  this  horse-thief. 
He  came  from  there  to  California. 

About  six  months  after  he  had  made  his  escape 
from  the  citizens  near  Logtown,  he  went  on  board 
a  steamer  at  San  Francisco,  went  into  the  clerk's 
office,  picked  up  a  United  States  express-box  con- 


CALIFORNIA  IN  1850-52,  93 

taining  a  large  amount  of  money,  and  walked  off 
with  it  on  his  shoulder  in  the  presence  of  officers 
of  the  ship  and  a  large  number  of  passengers. 
When  the  theft  was  discovered,  the  thief  was 
pursued,  and  a  short  distance  from  the  ship  he 
was  discovered  in  a  small  boat  in  the  bay,  the 
valuable  box  by  his  side,  and  he  was  rowing  away 
for  his  life.  Three  officers  got  into  another  boat, 
and,  after  an  exciting  race  of  four  or  five  miles, 
captured  and  brought  him  back.  A  scaffi^ld  was 
at  once  erected.  He  was  led  to  the  top  of  the 
scaffi^ld  in  the  presence  of  hundreds  of  excited 
people.  A  noose  was  made  in  the  rope,  slipped 
over  his  head,  and  adjusted  to  his  neck,  and  then 
he  was  asked  if  he  had  anything  to  say  or  any 
requests  to  make.  He  called  for  a  glass  of  brandy 
and  a  cigar.  They  were  brought.  He  drank  the 
brandy,  then  calmly  smoked  the  cigar,  and  having 
finished,  he  said :  "  I  am  now  at  your  service." 
The  trap  was  sprung,  and  his  unprepared  soul 
went  into  the  presence  of  the  Almighty.  Such 
was  life  in  the  early  settlement  of  California. 


94  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

RETURN  HOME  BY  WAY  OF  THE  ISTHMUS. 

San  Francisco— San  Diego — "  AVonders  op  the  Deep  " — 
AcAPULCo — Terrible  Storm— Panama — Crossing  the 
Isthmus — From  Aspinwall  to  New  York — Home. 

AFTER  remaining  on  the  coast  for  two  years, 
we  left  for  oui*  home  in  the  States.  We 
took  passage  on  a  steamboat  at  Sacramento  City, 
passed  down  the  Sacramento  River  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, reaching  this  city  late  at  night.  At  that  time 
San  Francisco  was  a  gay  and  lively  city.  Exten- 
sive eating-houses,  immense  saloons  and  gambling- 
houses,  splendidly  illuminated,  gorgeously  deco- 
rated and  furnished  with  bands  of  the  finest  music, 
regaled  the  visitor  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night. 
Some  of  these  gambling-halls  were  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  long  and  fifty  feet  wide.  On  one  side 
was  a  bar,  where  liquors  of  all  kinds  were  dealt 
out  to  suit  the  tastes  of  the  various  customers.  On 
the  other  side,  and  down  through  the  center  of 
the  room,  were  rows  of  small  tables.  Each  table 
was  a  "  monte,''  or  "  faro-bank,^^  on  which  gold 
and  silver  were  piled,  in  some  instances  to  the 
amount  of  many  thousand  dollars. 

Around  each  table  men  were  gathered,  betting 


RETURN  HOME  BY  WAY  OF  ISTHMUS.      95 

against  the  banker  or  proprietor  of  the  table, 
the  proprietor  always  coming  out  ahead ;  the 
miner  from  the  mountains  almost  invariably  being 
fleeced  of  his  hard-earned  "  dust/^  At  one  end 
of  the  hall  was  a  platform,  on  which  sat  a  band 
of  well-skilled  musicians.  The  doors  of  these 
attractive  buildings  were  wide  open,  night  and 
day,  and  everybody  was  made  welcome.  The 
"click,  click,"  of  the  glasses  at  the  bar,  the 
"  chink,  chink,  chink,"  of  the  gold  and  silver  on 
the  tables;  the  music  by  the  band  on  the  ros- 
trum, furnished  a  strange  medley,  the  eifect  of 
which  was  very  exciting. 

In  these  places  fortunes  Avere  won  and  fortunes 
lost  in  a  few  hours.  Here  many  rejoiced  over 
their  spoils,  while  others  wept  over  the  loss  of  all 
they  had.  Here,  too,  many  a  bloody  encounter 
ensued.  The  gamblers  generally  went  armed  to 
the  teeth,  and  if  a  dishonest  trick  was  discovered, 
bowie-knives  and  revolvers  were  the  arbiters.  One 
or  the  other  fell  from  the  deadly  weapon,  and  was 
borne  away  a  lifeless  corpse ;  but  the  music  and 
drinking  and  gambling  went  on,  as  though  noth- 
ing unusual  had  transpired. 

At  that  time  a  large  portion  of  the  city  was 
built  on  piles  in  the  bay,  and  there  was  no  filling 
under  the  streets  or  houses.  In  many  places 
holes  were  found  in  the  street  large  enough  to 
let  a  man  through,  and   I   have   no    doubt   that 


96  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

many  a  poor  man  went  down  through  these 
openings,  never  again  to  be  seen  alive.  Many 
who  went  to  the  Pacific  Coast  in  quest  of  gold, 
and  were  never  again  heard  from  by  their  friends, 
without  doubt  found  watery  graves  under  the 
houses  and  streets  of  San  Francisco.  I  shall 
always  believe  that  my  brother  and  I  came  very 
near  losing  our  lives  while  there.  I  shudder 
when  I  think  of  the  night  we  spent  in  that 
wicked  city  nearly  forty  years  ago.  No  finer 
place  in  the  world  was  ever  afforded  murderers 
for  their  victims  than  beneath  the  streets  and 
houses  of  San  Francisco  at  that  time. 

The  next  day  after  reaching  the  city,  we  took 
passage  on  the  steamship  Northerner.  We  left 
the  harbor,  passed  out  through  the  "  Golden 
Gate,"  and,  with  our  vessel  headed  to  the  south, 
rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  soon  meeting  loved 
ones  at  home.  We  had  not  been  out  very  long 
until  it  seemed  to  me  that  "  Pacific"  was  a  misno- 
mer. The  sea  was  tremendously  rough.  I  said 
to  myself  that  it  ought  to  have  been  named  "  Ter- 
rific" and  not  '^Pacific." 

The  first  port  we  entered  after  leaving  San 
Francisco  was  San  Diego,  a  small  Mexican  town 
some  four  hundred  miles  southeast  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  about  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  Mexi- 
can border.  No  sooner  had  our  ship  dropped 
anchor  in  the  beautiful  bay  than  swarms  of  Mexican 


RETURN  HOME  BY  WAY  OF  ISTHMUS.      97 

men  and  boys  gathered  around  the  vessel  in  the 
water,  ready  to  perform  the  most  wonderful  feats 
of  diving  for  a  consideration.  The  passengers  threw 
dimes  and  quarters  into  the  water,  to  see  the  natives 
dive  and  bring  them  up.  A  dime  or  a  quarter  of 
a  dollar  thrown  into  the  water  was  never  lost, 
but  was  invariably  brought  to  the  surface  by  the 
expert  diver.  The  boys  seemed  as  much  at  home 
in  the  water  as  any  fish  ever  was  in  its  native 
element.  It  was  really  amazing  to  see  how  deep 
one  would  go  down,  and  how  long  he  would  re- 
main under  the  water,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
coveted  silver  prize.  And  then  when  he  came  to 
the  surface,  with  a  grin  of  triumph  on  his  face,  he 
would  shake  his  head  and  rattle  the  silver  against 
his  teeth  in  his  mouth.  North  San  Diego,  a  small 
hamlet  four  miles  north  of  this,  was  the  first  place 
settled  by  white  men  in  California.  The  Jesuits 
first  settled  here,  and  founded  a  mission,  in  1768. 
The  climate  of  this  region  has  always  been  re- 
markably salubrious,  and  many  for  years  have 
visited  it  as  a  health  resort.  This  little,  insignifi- 
cant Mexican  town  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the 
lovely  cities  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  Our  ship  re- 
mained here  only  long  enough  to  take  in  a  supply 
of  coal,  when  she  weighed  anchor  and  made  for 
the  open  sea. 

David  speaks  of  "  God's  wonders  in  the  deep." 
We  had   not   been  out  on  the  ocean  very  long 


98  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

when  we  were  permitted  to  see  some  of  these 
wonders.  Soon  after  leaving  San  Diego,  we  ran 
into  a  school  of  porpoises.  To  one  unaccustomed 
to  the  sea,  a  school  of  porpoises  is  a  great  curi- 
osity. The  porpoise  is  about  six  feet  long,  bluish- 
black  color  on  the  back,  similar  to  the  color  of  a 
cat-fish,  and  white  beneath.  They  are  very 
active,  and  live  in  schools  or  flocks,  and  are  fre- 
quently seen  swimming  and  playing  about  ves- 
sels, running  races  with  them,  and  leaping  many 
feet  out  of  the  water.  The  porpoise  has  been 
called  by  some  the  "  sea-fish  ;^^  by  others  the 
"  sea-hog.'^  It  looks  like  a  hog,  and  roots  in  the 
sand  like  a  hog,  hence  the  name.  It  seems  to 
me  that  "  sea-swine  ^^  is  the  most  appropriate 
name  that  could  possibly  be  given  to  the  por- 
poise. Nothing  I  ever  saw  in  my  life  reminded 
me  more  of  a  drove  of  swine  than  the  school  of 
porpoises  we  first  saw  at  sea.  They  were  swim- 
ming in  front  of  the  ship,  and  were  leaping  out 
of  the  water  from  one  to  six  feet  high  as  they 
scud  before  the  vessel  like  a  drove  of  frightened 
swine.  Ever  and  anon  we  struck  a  shoal  of 
these  "  wonders  of  the  deep,"  both  on  the  Pacific 
and  Atlantic  Oceans. 

We  saw,  too,  a  number  of  whales.  Mighty 
monsters  they  are;  the  largest  of  all  living 
animals. 

The  next  port  we  entered  was  Acapulco.     This 


RETURN  HOME  BY  WAY  OF  ISTHMUS.      99 

also  was  a  small  Mexican  town,  of  only  a  few 
inhabitants.  Here,  as  at  San  Diego,  swarms  of 
Mexican  men  and  boys  gathered  around  our  ves- 
sel, anxious  to  exhibit  their  aquatic  skill.  Aca- 
pulco  is  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  southwest 
of  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  at  one  time  was  a 
port  of  considerable  importance,  as  it  was  the 
focus  of  the  trade  from  China  and  the  East  In- 
dies. After  taking  in  a  supply  of  coal,  our  ves- 
sel again  headed  for  Panama.  Soon  after  leaving 
this  port  we  encountered  the  most  terrible  storm 
we  ever  witnessed;  it  was  awful,  beyond  all 
description.  Late  in  the  afternoon  it  was  evident 
that  a  storm  was  coming.  The  waves  of  the 
ocean  continued  to  rise  higher  and  higher.  They 
were  perfectly  smooth,  but  appeared  more  and 
more  fearful  as  they  increased.  On  and  on  they 
came — mighty  mountains  of  water.  Each  one 
rising  higher  than  the  one  preceding  it.  At  one 
moment  we  were  on  the  crest  of  one  of  these 
billows,  the  next  we  were  in  the  trough  far  be- 
low, and  in  front  and  rear  rose  mountains  of 
water,  seemingly  hundreds  of  feet  high.  The  old 
ship  creaked  and  groaned  and  labored  as  she 
climbed  up  and  down  these  stupendous  waves. 
The  scene  was  grand  but  awful.  Such  a  scene 
one  does  not  care  to  witness  more  than  once  in  a 
life-time.  The  officers  knew  well  that  danger  was 
ahead.     The  deck  was  cleared,  the  sails   reefed. 


100  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

and  everything  put  in  order.  As  the  darkness 
of  the  night  settled  down  upon  us.  the  storm  in 
all  its  fury  broke  upon  the  ship.  Wave  after 
wave  rolled  over  the  vessel.  One  of  the  wheel- 
houses  was  washed  away,  all  the  cattle  on  board 
were  swept  into  the  sea,  and  in  twenty-four  hours 
afterwards  the  ship  came  out  of  the  storm  badly 
disabled.  During  the  raging  of  the  storm  children 
cried,  women  shrieked,  and  men  turned  pale  and 
trembled  with  fear.  One  man  said :  ^'  I  have  seven 
thousand  dollars.  I  will  give  it  to  any  one  who  will 
save  my  life.^'  Another  man,  frantic  with  fear, 
cried  out :  ^'  I  would  gladly  give  every  dollar  I  have 
if  I  were  only  on  land  again.''  Satan  once  said 
to  God  with  regard  to  Job:  ^'AU  that  a  man  hath 
will  he  give  for  his  life."  Once,  if  never  before, 
Satan  told  the  truth.  This  truth  we  saw  illus- 
trated, on  shipboard  in  this  terrible  storm. 

I  have  often  thought  it  strange  that  men  are 
willing  to  give  so  much  for  the  body  and  so  lit- 
tle for  the  soul.  If  a  man  is  willing  to  give  all 
he  has  for  the  body,  what  should  he  not  be  will- 
ing to  give  for  perfect  happiness  here  and  eternal 
glory  hereafter? 

After  twenty  days'  sail,  our  steamer  dropped 
anchor  in  the  gulf,  about  two  miles  from  Panama. 
In  a  few  moments  a  hundred  small  boats  or 
more  surrounded  the  ship,  ready  to  take  passen- 
gers and  baggage  ashore.     We  hired  one  of  these 


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boats,  and  in  an  hour  afterwards  stepped  on  the 
rocky  peninsula  on  which  stands  the  city  of 
Panama.  This  city  was  founded  by  Davila,  in 
1518,  six  miles  northeast  of  its  present  loca- 
tion. After  its  destruction  by  the  buccaneers, 
in  1670,  it  was  rebuilt  upon  its  present  site. 
The  houses  were  mostly  of  stone;  the  streets 
very  narrow  and  irregular.  The  porches  and 
roofs  of  many  of  the  buildings  were  moss-cov- 
ered, and  looked  as  though  they  had  been  standing 
for  ages.  Many  of  them  were  more  than  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  old.  From  here  we  crossed 
to  Aspinwall,  a  distance  of  some  sixty  miles. 
The  first  twenty  miles  we  traveled  on  foot,  leav- 
ing Panama  early  in  the  morning,  and  reaching 
Chagres  River  near  sundown.  It  was  the  hardest 
day's  work  we  ever  did.  We  were  compelled  to 
walk,  because  we  could  not  hire  a  mule  for  love 
or  money.  All  had  been  engaged  before  we  were 
aware  of  their  scarcity.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents 
nearly  all  day.  The  road  was  narrow,  barely 
wide  enough  for  two  mules  to  pass  each  other. 
More  than  a  hundred  years  previous  to  the  time 
we  crossed,  this  road  had  been  paved  by  the  Span- 
iards for  military  purposes,  and  at  one  time  it  was 
smooth,  beautiful,  and  easily  traveled.  But  the 
pavement  of  this  once  beautiful  road  was  broken 
to  pieces,  and  it  was  in  a  much  worse  condition 
than  if  the  pavement  had  never  been  there.    That 


102  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

day  we  stood  upon  the  same  mountain  summit 
that  Balboa's  feet  pressed  when  he  discovered 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Three  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine  years  before,  Balboa  gazed  with  delight 
for  the  first  time  upon  the  beautiful  Western 
Ocean. 

We  reached  the  Chagres  River  about  sundown, 
and  found  a  good  hotel,  kept  by  an  American. 
Our  clothes  were  drenched  through  and  through, 
and  there  was  not  a  dry  thread  about  us.  We 
ate  a  hearty  supper,  went  to  bed  in  our  wet  and 
clay-besmeared  clothes,  and  slept  soundly  till 
morning.  The  next  day  we  took  a  small  boat, 
descended  the  river  until  we  struck  the  railroad, 
which  was  then  building  across  the  Isthmus. 

The  people  of  the  Isthmus  were  a  mongrel 
race.  They  were  a  mixture  of  the  white,  the  red, 
and  the  black.  In  the  same  family  might  be 
found  persons  of  almost  every  color.  Some  al- 
most white,  some  of  a  dark  hue,  and  some  as 
black  as  tar.  All  smoked.  The  use  of  tobacco 
was  as  common  among  them  as  the  use  of  bread 
is  with  us.  Almost  every  one  you  met  had  a 
cigar  in  the  mouth;  little  boys  and  girls  not  more 
than  two  years  old  were  running  around,  puffing 
away  like  little  steam-engines.  The  women  while 
engaged  in  culinary  work,  smoked  their  cigars, 
and  the  men,  no  matter  what  their  employment, 
did  the  same.     The  children  were  all  stark  naked; 


RETURN  HOME  BY  WAY  OF  ISTHMUS.    103 

many  of  the  men  and  women  were  only  half  clad, 
and  all  were  repulsive  in  the  extreme. 

Having  reached  the  railroad,  we  bought  our 
tickets,  and  took  seats  in  one  of  the  coaches. 
This  was  the  first  engine  and  train  of  cars  we  had 
ever  seen.  We  said  as  we  took  our  seats :  "  This 
is  splendid ;  perfectly  lovely !"  The  train  moved 
off  from  the  depot  slowly  and  smoothly,  and 
glided  along  very  nicely  for  a  few  miles,  when  a 
heavy  grade  was  reached;  up  this  grade  the  train 
went  slower  and  slower,  and  finally  came  to  a 
dead  halt.  Then  the  engineer  backed  the  train 
for  a  mile,  and,  putting  on  all  the  steam  possible, 
started ;  but  as  soon  as  the  train  struck  the  grade 
she  slackened  her  speed,  and  at  length  stood  stock 
still  again.  Again  the  engineer  backed  the  train, 
and,  putting  on  all  steam  he  could,  once  more 
started,  and  stuck  fast  a  third  time.  Then  the 
passengers  all  got  out,  put  their  shoulders  to  the 
coaches,  and  boosted  the  train  over  the  grade. 
Our  impression  of  a  railroad  was  not  so  favora- 
ble as  when  we  started.  We  were  paying  fifty 
cents  a  mile  and  working  our  passage.  It  was  a 
little  like  sailing  before  the  mast  after  having 
paid  full  fare.  The  engine  was  small,  the  grade 
heavy,  and  the  engineer  green.  The  summit 
passed,  we  got  in,  and  in  a  little  while  reached 
Colon,  then  called  Aspinwall.  This  town  was 
then  two  years  old,  and  had  about  two  hundred 


104  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

inhabitants.  It  was  founded  by  the  railroad 
company  in  1850.  Here  we  took  the  steamship 
Illinois,  and,  after  ten  days^  sail,  reached  the  city 
of  New  York.  From  here  we  took  the  cars,  and 
in  three  days  reached  South  Bend,  our  old  home, 
and  greeted  mother  and  other  loved  ones  from 
whom  we  had  been  separated  for  two  and  a  half 
years. 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  105 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PERSONAIv  RECOI.I.ECTIONS. 

A  Memorable  City  and  Chuech — John  Brownfield — 
David  Stover  —  Conversion  —  Parental  Influ- 
ence— Call  to  Preach — Attend  Asbury  Univer- 
sity— Licensed  to  Preach — Join  Conference — First 
Circuit — Second  Circuit — Two  Gracious  Revivals — 
First  Convert's  Triumphant  Death  —  Ordained 
Deacon — Bishop  Waugh. 

ON  the  banks  of  the  Saint  Joseph  River,  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  State  of  Indiana, 
stands  the  beautiful  city  of  South  Bend.  Near 
the  center  of  this  city  stands  a  beautiful  church. 
Around  this  church  cluster  many  sacred  and 
most  hallowed  associations. 

I  can  not  remember  when  I  was  first  con- 
victed of  sin.  I  always  felt  that  I  was  a  sinner, 
and  unless  converted,  "born  again,^'  I  should  be 
lost  forever.  I  attribute  my  early  conviction  of 
sin  to  the  faithful  instructions  given  me  by  a  de- 
voted father  and  mother.  From  my  very  earliest 
recollectiwis,  I  was  taught  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  Christianity.  The  depravity  of  the 
heart,  the  necessity  of  pardon  and  regeneration, 
a  general  judgment-day,   a  hell  into    which  all 


106  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

the  finally  impenitent  will  be  turned,  a  heaven 
where  all  the  pure  will  enter  and  be  forever  per- 
fectly happy,  were  doctrines  instilled  into  my 
mind  from  earliest  childhood,  all  of  which  I 
found  clearly  taught  in  God's  Word. 

For  three  years  previous  to  my  conversion  I 
was  under  deep  conviction  nearly  all  the  time. 
I  have  always  been  grateful  to  God  for  the  many 
well-defined  points  in  my  religious  experience. 
I  was  clearly  and  powerfully  convicted  of  sin, 
clearly  and  powerfully  converted,  clearly  and 
powerfully  convicted  of  the  need  of  a  clean  heart, 
and  just  as  clearly  received  that  blessing.  I  was 
clearly  and  powerfully  called  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  So  clear  was  my  call  to  preach  the 
gospel,  that  all  doubt  touching  the  matter  was 
entirely  swept  from  my  mind  soon  after  receiv- 
ing the  call. 

On  Monday  morning,  the  4th  day  of  March, 
1853,  I  attended  a  love-feast,  held  in  the  above- 
named  church.  From  that  love-feast,  with  a  sad 
and  heavy  heart,  weighed  down  under  the  crush- 
ing load  of  sin,  I  wended  my  way  to  the  Bible 
Depository,  kept  by  John  Brownfield.  Here  the 
reader  will  pardon  me  for  digressing  for  a  mo- 
ment. I  can  not  refrain  from  a  personal  reference 
to  my  first  Sunday-school  superintendent.  John 
Brownfield  was  superintendent  of  the  same  school 
for  forty-three  years  in  succession.     He  made  a 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  107 

wonderful  record  as  a  Sunday-school  superintend- 
ent. He  was  deeply  pious,  and  very  greatly  in- 
terested in  the  welfare  of  the  young.  He  was 
eminently  practical,  and  availed  himself  of  passing 
events  and  the  most  common  occurrences  to  im- 
press religious  truth  upon  the  minds  of  his  pupils. 
In  this  he  was  an  adept.  In  fact,  in  this,  I  think 
I  may  safely  say,  he  was  unusually  apt.  Some  of 
his  simple  illustrations,  taken  from  every-day  life, 
I  remember  distinctly  to-day,  although  I  was  a 
mere  boy  when  I  heard  them.  His  kind  words 
and  faithful  teachings  as  a  superintendent  have 
never  passed  from  my  memory.  They  have  been 
a  benediction  to  me  for  more  than  a  third  of  a 
century. 

The  following  testimonial  card,  from  the  Sun- 
day-school of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  South  Bend,  Indiana,  was  presented  to 
Brother  Brownfield  January  1,  1882 : 

Jestimopial, 

Approved  by  the  Sunday-school  of  the  First  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church,  South  Bend,  Indiana,  January 

I,  1882. 

WHEREAS, 

JOHN  BROMNFIELD 

HAS  BEEN  THE  SUPERINTENDENT  OP  OUR 

FOR  THE  LAST 
FORTY-THRBB   YfeKRS  : 


108  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

AND  WHEREAS, 

Because  of  the  burden  of  seventy-three  years,  he  now 
declines  to  serve  us  longer  in  that  office ;  therefore,  be  it 
said  to  him  and  to  the 

MORLD, 

First.  That  we  deeply  deplore  the  occasion  which  has 
led  to  his  declinature. 

Second.  That  we  are  proud  of  the  long  and  faithful 
record  of  his  superintendency. 

Third.  That  we  cordially  indorse  the  action  of  the  Sun- 
day-school Board  by  which  he  is  now  entitled 

for  life.  » 

Fourth.  That  we  shall  never  cease  to  feel  that  we  are 
honored  by  his  presence  in  the  school  and  aided  by  his 
counsels  in  our  work.  And  furthermore,  we  must  be  al- 
lowed to  say  to  any  who  may  see  this 

TESTI7«IONIKL 

that  in  him  whom  we  honor  to- day  we  have  marked, 
First.  The  manliest  type  of  manhood. 
Second.  The  purest  Christian  character. 
Third.  The  most  patient  and  toilsome  zeal  in 

KLL   GOD'S   iBiORKS. 

The  moral  and  religious  characters  which  have  grown 
up  in  the  school  during  his  administration,  will  make  for 
him  a  more  enduring  monument  than  brass  or  stone.  The 
only  adequate  reward  of  his  labors  will  come  when  his 

Dli^INE   7«tHSTER  SHKLL  SKY  TO  HIW, 

''  Well  done,  thou  good   and   faithful   seevant  ;   enter 
thou  into 

®U«  ^o»  0f  ®h»  Sorb*" 

Postmaster-General  Wanamaker  is  one  of  the 
most  noted  Sunday-school  superintendents  of  the 
age.    He  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Bethany 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  109 

Church  Sunday-school  for  thirty-two  years.  John 
Brownfield,  as  superintendent  of  the  same  school, 
ranked  Mr.  Wanamaker  eleven  years.  Mr. 
Brownfield  was  honorary  superintendent  for  eight 
years ;  virtually  he  was  at  the  head  of  tlie  same 
school  for  fifty-one  years.  That  certainly  is  an 
honor  of  which  any  man  may  well  be  proud. 

General  C.  B.  Fisk  said  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  "  I  have  been  promoted  from  a  major-general 
to  a  Sunday-school  superintendent.'^  A  success- 
ful Sunday-school  superintendent  outranks  all 
the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy.  After  tri- 
umphantly leading  the  Sunday-school  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  South  Bend,  In- 
diana, for  forty-three  years.  Brother  Brownfield 
had  a  right  to  rest  in  peace  and  quiet  under  the 
laurels  he  had  so  justly  won.  At  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-two,  on  the  21st  day  of  January, 
1890,  he  passed  peacefully  from  his  earthly  to 
his  heavenly  home.  David  Stover  was  my  first 
Sunday-school  teacher.  His  faithful  teachings 
have  never  been  forgotten.  I  love  to  think  of 
ray  first  Sunday-school  superintendent,  and  my 
first  Sunday-school  teacher.  Their  names  are 
sacred.  Brother  Brownfield  has  ceased  to  work. 
Brother  Stover,  though  advanced  in  years,  is  still 
doing  effective  work  for  God. 

On  that  ever-to-be-remembered  Monday  morn- 
ing, I  entered  the  Bible  Depository  and  purchased 


110  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

a  pocket  Bible.  This  was  my  first  step  towards 
a  religious  life.  The  next  step  was  a  firm  and 
solemn  resolve  made,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  be 
a  Christian.  That  night  I  went  to  church,  and 
after  listening  to  a  sermon  from  the  pastor,  the 
E-ev.  James  C.  Reid,  an  invitation  -was  given  for 
seekers  of  religion  to  come  to  the  altar.  I  was 
the  first  person  on  my  knees  at  the  "  mercy-seat.^' 
Christian  friends  and  relatives  gathered  around 
me,  all  intensely  interested  and  anxious  for  my 
salvation.  Among  the  number  was  a  now  sainted 
mother.  The  gloom  of  despair  settled  down  upon 
my  soul.  The  darkness  was  dense;  so  dense  it 
seemed  to  me  it  could  almost  be  felt.  Satan  said : 
"You  have  sinned  away  your  day  of  grace. 
There  is  no  mercy  for  such  a  sinner  as  you/' 
Not  knowing  the  wiles  of  the  enemy,  I  believed 
every  word  he  said.  It  was  a  dark  hour.  Never 
will  it  be  forgotten.  But  just  at  that  moment, 
when  all  seemed  lost  and  hell  certain,  my  faithful 
mother  whispered  in  my  ears  the  inspiring  words, 
"Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  the  chief  of 
sinners."  I  turned  from  Satan's  lying  words  to 
Jesus,  the  "Mighty  to  save,"  and  grasping  in  an 
instant  the  precious  promise,  the  cloud  rifted,  the 
sunlight  of  heaven  came  streaming  down  into  my 
soul,  and  leaping  to  my  feet,  I  shouted,  "  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest! "  I  never  shall  forget  that 
hour.     Its  precious  memory  lingers  with  me  to- 


PEBSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  HI 

day.     I  love  the  hymn,  and  I   iiave  sometimes 
'  thought  I  would  sing  it  forever: 

"  There  is  a  spot  to  me  more  dear 

Than  native  vale  or  mountain, 
A  spot  for  which  affection's  tear 

Springs  grateful  from  its  fountain ; 
'Tis  not  where  kindred  souls  abound, 

Though  that  is  almost  heaven, 
But  where  I  first  my  Saviour  found, 

And  felt  my  sins  forgiven. 

Sinking  and  panting  as  for  breath, 
•  I  knew  not  help  was  near  me ; 

I  cried,  O  save  me,  Lord,  from  death ; 

Immortal  Jesus,  save  me ! 
Then  quick  as  thought  I  felt  him  mine. 

My  Saviour  stood  before  me  ! 
I  saw  his  brightness  round  me  shine, 
And  shouted.  Glory!  glory!" 

Mothers  will  have  rich  trophies  in  glory.  The 
power  of  example  is  wonderful.  It  is  wonderful 
for  good  or  for  evil.  It  can  not  be  weighed,  or 
measured,  or  estimated.  A  boy  astonished  his 
Christian  mother  by  asking  her  for  a  dollar  to 
buy  a  share  in  a  raffle  for  a  silver  watch,  that  was 
to  be  raffled  off  in  a  beer-saloon.  His  mother 
was  horrified,  and  rebuked  him.  ^'But,''  said  he, 
"  mother,  did  you  not  bake  a  cake  with  a  ring  in 
it  to  be  raffled  off  in  a  Sunday-school  fair?'^  "O, 
my  son,"  said  she,  ^^  that  was  for  the  Church.'^ 
"  But  if  it  was  wrong,"  said  the  boy,  "  would  doing 


n2  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

it  for  the  Church  make  it  right?  Would  it  be 
right  for  me  to  steal  money  to  put  in  the  collec- 
tion ?  And  if  it  is  right  for  the  Church,  is  it  not 
right  for  me  to  get  this  watch  if  I  can  ?'^  The 
mother  was  completely  dumfounded,  and  could 
not  answer  her  son.  She  had  set  the  example, 
and  her  boy  was  following  it. 

Josh  Billings,  a  great  humorist,  and  a  wise 
man  as  well,  once  said  :  ''  If  you  wish  to  train  up 
your  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  just  skirmish 
ahead  on  that  line  yourself" 

The  mother  of  John  Quincy  Adams  said,  in  a 
letter  to  him,  written  when  he  was  only  ten  years 
old  :  ''  I  would  rather  see  you  laid  in  your  grave 
than  grow  up  a  profane  and  graceless  boy."  Not 
long  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Adams  a  gentleman 
said  to  him:  "I  have  found  out  who  made  you." 
"  What  do  you  mean  ?"  said  Mr.  Adams.  The 
gentleman  replied :  ''  I  have  been  reading  the  pub- 
lished letters  of  your  mother."  Raising  himself 
up,  his  countenance  all  aglow,  and  his  eyes 
flashing  with  light  and  fire,  the  venerable  man, 
in  his  peculiar  manner,  said:  "Yes,  sir;  all  that 
is  good  in  me  I  owe  to  my  mother." 

The  hallowed  influence  of  John  Wesley's 
mother  is  felt  to-day  on  almost  every  part  of  this 
planet.  The  benign  and  salutary  influence  of 
Washington's  mother  is  molding  nations  and 
empires.     No  work  will  bring  more  honor  to  the 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  113 

mother,  the  children,  the  Church,  and  the  world, 
than  the  religious  training  of  the  children.  Teach 
them  by  example  as  well  as  by  precept.  Bishop 
Foss  once  said :  "  There  is  nothing  better  for 
children  than  allopathic  doses  of  mother/' 

But  perhaps  some  one  is  ready  to  ask :  "  What 
about  the  fathers  in  this  work  of  training  the 
children  ?''  Well,  I  want  to  say  that  fathers  are 
equally  responsible  with  the  mothers  for  the  right 
training  of  the  children.  Among  the  many  rich 
blessings  conferred  upon  me  by  a  kind  Provi- 
dence, not  the  least  by  any  means  was  pious  par- 
ents. Not  a  day  passes  but  that  I  praise  God 
for  a  godly  father  and  a  godly  mother.  Their 
precious  memory  "  is  as  ointment  poured  forth.'' 
I  love  to  think  of  them  as  they  used  to  call  us 
children  to  family  prayers.  They  took  turns  in 
conducting  family  worship.  One  of  them  would 
take  down  the  old  family  Bible,  read  a  chapter, 
and  then  lead  in  prayer;  the  next  morning  the 
other  would  read  and  lead  in  prayer.  I  love  to 
think  of  them  as  I  used  to  see  them  wending 
their  way  to  the  house  of  God. 

On  quarterly  meeting  occasions  father  almost 
always  stopped  work  at  nine  o'clock  Saturday 
morning,  and  went  to  the  eleven  o'clock  preach- 
ing service.  That  had  a  most  wonderful  effect 
on  ray  young  heart.  I  remember,  just  as  dis- 
tinctly as  if  it  were  yesterday,  seeing  my  father 
10 


114  SOLITARY  PLAGES  MADE  GLAD. 

start  off  to  quarterly  meeting  one  Saturday  morn- 
ing. It  was  at  a  very  busy  season  of  the  year. 
I  never  shall  forget  just  how  I  felt,  and  just 
what  I  said  to  myself.  I  said :  "  I  know  father 
is  a  good  man,  or  he  never  would  stop  worlc  at 
such  a  busy  time  to  go  to  Church. ^^  They  were 
just  as  faithful  at  the  prayer  and  class  meetings 
as  they  were  at  the  public  means  of  grace,  and 
they  were  just  as  prompt  in  paying  their  quarter- 
age as  they  were  in  attending  all  the  services  of 
the  Church. 

At  one  time  quarterly  meeting  came  when 
father  was  away  from  home,  and  mother,  from 
some  cause,  could  not  attend.  In  the  afternoon 
she  gave  me  a  two-dollar  bill,  and  told  me  to 
take  it  to  the  class-leader.  Two  dollars  was  a 
good  deal  of  money  for  us  at  that  time,  for  we 
were  not  in  the  most  affluent  circumstances.  I 
walked  two  miles  and  a  half  to  the  house  of  the 
class-leader,  carrying  in  my  hand  the  two-dollar 
bill.  I  remember  distinctly  the  bank-bill.  It 
was  a  two-dollar  note  on  the  old  State  Bank  of 
Indiana.  That  simple  incident  made  a  deep  and 
lasting  impression  on  my  mind.  I  felt  that 
mother's  religion  was  of  some  value,  and  that 
she  considered  it  worth  something.  Too  many, 
alas!  place  no  value  at  all  on  their  religion. 
They  want  it  for  nothing,  and  think  it  a  hard- 
ship if  they  have  to  pay  a  small  pittance  quarterly 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  115 

to  support  God's  messengers  while  they  proclaim 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation.  When  Araanah  of- 
fered to  give  David  the  threshing-floor  and  the 
oxen  that  he  might  offer  a  sacrifice  to  God, 
David  declined  the  liberal  and  kindly  offer,  say- 
ing: '^  Nay ;  but  I  will  surely  buy  it  of  thee  at  a 
price  ;  neither  will  I  offer  burnt-offerings  unto 
the  Lord  my  God  of  that  which  doth  cost  me 
nothing.  So  David  bought  the  threshing-floor 
and  the  oxen  for  fifty  shekels  of  silver.  And 
David  built  there  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  and 
offered  burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings.^' 
(2  Sam.  xxiv,  24.)  David  bought  the  oxen,  then 
offered  them  to  God  as  a  sacrifice,  and  they  were 
acceptable  in  the  sight  of  the  Almighty.  Heav- 
enly fire  descended  and  consumed  the  offering, 
and  a  great  and  rich  blessing  came  to  David  and 
all  his  people.  Had  David  accepted  the  magnan- 
imous offer  of  Araunah,  it  would  have  been 
Araunah's  sacrifice,  and  not  David's,  and  the  re- 
sult would  have  been,  no  blessing  would  have 
come  to  David  or  his  people,  but  the  plague 
would  have  gone  on  as  before.  A  religion  that 
costs  nothing  is  a  religion  that  is  worth  nothing. 
No  one  will  highly  esteem  the  ordinances  of  God 
if  they  do  not  cost  him  anything. 

My  precious  parents  would  sooner  go  without 
their  tea  and  coffee,  or  any  of  the  necessaries  of 
life,  than  not  to  pay  their  quarterage.     That  fact 


116         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

impressed  ray  young  heart  as  deeply  as  their  reg- 
ularity in  attending  the  house  of  God.  The  de- 
lightful remembrance  of  my  devoted  parents  is 
far  more  precious  to  me  than  any  thing  this  world 
could  possibly  give.  Their  hallowed  influence 
has  been  a  benediction  to  me  for  more  than  fifty 
years.  The  fragrance  of  their  lives  is  with  me 
to-day,  and  will  remain  with  me  forever.  If  I 
am  ever  rewarded  for  any  good  done  here  on 
earth,  my  sainted  parents  will  share  with  me  in 
that  reward. 

Only  a  few  days  after  conversion  the  impres- 
sion came,  "  You  must  preach.'^  Many  times  be- 
fore, often  when  far  away  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
the  thought  would  flit  through  my  mind,  "  You 
will  preach  some  day.'^  It  was  never  entertained, 
however,  for  a  moment,  but  was  instantly  ban- 
ished as  one  of  the  visionary  and  silly  thoughts 
that  often  enter  the  mind  of  the  young.  But 
when  I  was  converted  the  impression  came  to 
stay.  It  fastened  itself  to  my  heart  so  strongly  I 
never  could  rid  myself  of  it.  Shortly  after  con- 
version, while  thinking  over  the  matter,  the 
pastor.  Brother  James  C.  Reid,  said  to  me : 
'*  Henry,  do  you  not  think  God  has  a  work  for 
you  to  do?'^  I  was  astonished,  and  looked  at 
him  with  amazement.  I  frankly  told  him  my 
feelings,  and  opened  to  him  my  heart.  He  said  : 
"  I  will  get  you  a  scholarship  in  the  Asbury  Uni- 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  117 

versity/^  A  few  months  later  I  received  the 
scholarship,  and  went  to  Asbury — now  DePauw 
University — at  Greencastle,  Indiana,  to  prepare 
for  my  life-work. 

I  had  been  in  Greencastle  only  a  little  while — 
my  probation  had  not  yet  expired  —  when 
Brother  G.  C.  Beeks,  the  pastor,  appointed  me 
class-leader.  The  class  was  composed  mostly 
of  old  members  of  the  Church — fathers  and 
mothers  in  Israel — with  only  a  few  younger  mem- 
bers. It  met  on  Sunday  morning  at  nine  o'clock 
at  the  residence  of  Brother  Dunams.  With  much 
trembling  and  great  fear  I  took  the  class.  The 
first  meeting  was  owned  of  God.  The  room  was 
filled  with  the  Divine  glory,  and  all  seemed  to  en- 
joy a  rich  feast.  I  led  this  class  while  I  remained 
in  Greencastle,  and  I  never  shall  forget  the  many 
Pentecosts  we  enjoyed  in  Brother  Dunams's  parlor 
with  the  members  of  that  spirit-baptized  class.  I 
expect  to  hail  with  delight  the  members  of  that 
class  on  the  plains  of  glory. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1855,  I  was  examined 
before  the  Greencastle  Quarterly  Conference  on 
''  Doctrines  and  Discipline.^'  Several  other  can- 
didates for  the  ministry  were  examined  with  me. 
The  examination  was  rigid,  and  lasted  several 
hours,  but  it  was  conducted  with  great  kindness 
by  Aaron  Wood,  the  presiding  elder.  All  the 
great  doctrines  of  the   Church   were   thoroughly 


118  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

canvassed,  and  on  each  one  we  were  closely 
questioned.  Then  there  was  a  vein  of  piety 
running  through  the  whole  examination,  which 
made  it  wonderfully  solemn.  Every  member  of 
the  Conference  seemed  deeply  interested  in  it. 
All  felt  the  presence  of  God.  To  me  the  ex- 
amination was  a  solemn  hour.  The  next  morn- 
ing the  presiding  elder  handed  me  the  following 

paper : 

"  June  23,  1855. 

"License  is  hereby  granted  to  Henry  T.  Davis,  to 
preach  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Cliurch,  by  order  of 
the  Quarterly  Conference  of  Greencastle  Station. 

"Aaron  Wood,  President. 

"Hugh  S.  Mark,  Secretary." 

The  following  October  I  was  received  on  trial 
in  the  Northwest  Indiana  Conference,  held  at 
Delphi,  Indiana,  and  was  appointed  junior 
preacher  of  Russellville  Circuit.  H.  S.  Shaw  was 
preacher  in  charge.  That  year  I  learned  lessons 
in  the  administration  of  discipline  which  have 
been  of  very  great  value  to  me  ever  since. 

Dr.  T.  M.  Eddy  was  then  agent  of  the 
American  Bible  Society.  We  had  traveled  to- 
gether from  South  Bend,  and  had  become  quite 
intimately  acquainted.  Saturday  afternoon  he 
took  me  by  the  arm,  and,  looking  very  solemn, 
said :  "  Well,  Brother  Davis,  it  took  the  Avhole 
Conference  to  get  you  in."  At  first  blush  I  did 
not  catch  bis  meaning,  and  I  looked  at  him  with 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  119 

surprise.  He  smiled.  I  understood  him.  The 
vote  was  unanimous. 

The  next  year  I  was  appointed  to  the  San  ford 
Circuit.  This  circuit  was  composed  of  five  ap- 
pointments, lying  just  west  of  Terre  Haute. 

During  this  year  God  gave  us  two  gracious  re- 
vivals of  religion,  one  at  '^  Pisgah  ^^  appointment, 
and  the  other  at  "Bethesda."  Some  who  were 
converted  at  these  meetings  are  now  upon  the 
Avails  of  Zion  doing  effective  work  for  the  Master. 
The  first  meeting  was  held  at  Pisgah.  At  the 
close  we  began  one  at  Bethesda,  and  continued  it 
two  weeks,  during  which  time  seventy  souls  were 
clearly  converted.  God's  saving  power  was  man- 
ifested from  the  beginning  to  the  close.  The 
converts  ranged  from  little  children  to  gray-haired 
fathers  and  mothers.  Whole  families  were  won- 
derfully saved.  Ten  months  after  this  meeting 
we  saw  the  first  convert  pass  triumphant  to  her 
home  in  glory.  The  scene,  though  solemn,  was 
at  the  same  time  glorious. 

At  this  meeting,  Martha  Romine,  her  father, 
mother,  and  brothers,  were  all  converted.  Ten 
months  afterwards,  Martha  was  stricken  down 
with  that  fell  destroyer,  typhoid  fever,  from  which 
she  never  recovered.  Her  sickness  was  charac- 
terized by  patience,  resignation,  and  great  joy. 
The  last  visit  we  made,  we  found  her  very  near 
death's  door.    She  had   not  spoken  for   twenty- 


120  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

four  hours,  and  the  power  of  speech  seemed  for- 
ever gone.  For  some  time  she  had  been  delirious. 
We  knelt  down  by  her  bedside  and  prayed,  and 
as  we  prayed, 

"  Heaven  came  down  our  souls  to  greet, 
And  glory  crowned  the  mercy-seat." 

When  we  arose,  she  broke  forth  in  a  clear, 
sweet,  heavenly  voice,  and  sung, 

"  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear 
To  mansions  in  the  skies, 
I'  11  bid  farewell  to  every  fear. 
And  wipe  my  weeping  eyes." 

She  sung  the  hymn  through,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes afterwards  her  pure  spirit  went  up  to  join 
the  angelic  throng. 

I  love  to  think  of  the  results  of  that  victori- 
ous meeting.  It  was  my  first  great  victory  in  the 
ministry.  It  has  been  an  inspiration  to  me  ever 
since.  I  expect  to  meet  and  live  forever  with 
many  who  were  saved  at  that  meeting,  and  many 
who  stood  side  by  side  with  me  on  that  spiritual 
battle-field.  We  shall  not  be  among  strangers 
when  we  reach  heaven.  I  have  sometimes  thought 
I  could  almost  see  the  battlements  of  glory  lined 
with  friends  and  loved  ones,  waiting  and  watch- 
ing our  approach,  intensely  anxious  to  hail  us 
welcome  when  we  reach  the  "  shining  shore.^' 

"  What  a  meeting,  what  a  meeting  that  will  be !  " 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  121 

On  the  17th  day  of  September,  1857,  I  was 
married  to  Miss  Emily  McCulloch,of  Vigo  County, 
Indiana,  and  for  thirty-three  years  she  has  shared 
with  me  the  joys  and  sorrows,  lights  and  shadows, 
conflicts  and  triumphs  of  the  itinerancy.  Had  we 
our  lives  to  live  over  again,  and  were  we  permit- 
ted to  choose  our  life-work,  we  would  unhesitat- 
ingly say,  "  Give  us  the  Methodist  itinerancy." 

This  year  the  Conference  met  at  Lafayette. 
The  venerable  Bishop  Waugh  presided.  On 
Sunday,  October  4,  1857,  I  was  ordained  deacon 
by  this  holy  man.  I  remember  well  the  sermon 
the  bishop  preached  on  the  occasion.  His  text 
was  Rev.  ii,  10:  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life.''  It  was  a 
remarkable  sermon,  not  for  its  eloquence  or  pro- 
fundity, but  because  of  its  strange  and  mysterious 
power.  It  was  delivered  with  an  unction  that 
thrilled  and  electrified  every  one  in  the  vast  au- 
dience. It  was  plain  and  simple ;  the  smallest 
child  could  understand  every  sentence,  but  it  was 
attended  with  overwhelming  power.  In  his  per- 
oration the  bishop  seemed  transported  to  the 
third  heaven,  and  he  carried  the  congregation  up 
with  him  into  the  very  presence  of  God  and 
angels.  The  congregation  was  bathed  in  tears, 
and  shouts  of  "  Glory !  Glory ! ''  were  heard  all 

over  the. house.     It  was  a  memorable  occasion. 

H 


122         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD, 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ATTENTION  TURNED  TO  THE  WEST. 

Fascinations  of  the  West — Bellevue  Mission  offered 
Us  —  Acceptance  —  Adieu  to  Friends  —  We  reach 
Saint  Louis  —  Up  the  "Big  MuDoy"  —  Arrival  in 
Omaha. 

A  YOUNG  man  who  has  been  born  and  raised 
in  one  of  the  Eastern  or  Middle  States,  and 
then  leaves  and  spends  a  year  or  two  in  the  far 
West,  is  rarely  ever  satisfied,  when  he  returns,  to 
remain  permanently  in  his  old  home.  There  is  a 
strange  fascination  about  the  West  that  is  really 
wonderful,  and  that  can  hardly  be  accounted  for ; 
and  when  it  once  gets  hold  of  a  man,  it  is  next  to 
an  impossibility  for  him  ever  to  get  rid  of  it. 

We  had  passed  overland  from  South  Bend,  In- 
diana, to  the  Pacific  Coast.  We  had  seen  the 
grand  prairies  of  Illinois  and  Iowa,  the  woods  and 
clay  hills  of  Missouri;  we  had  traversed  "The 
Great  American  Desert,'^  crossed  the  Black  Hills, 
climbed  the  Rockies,  scaled  the  rugged  Sierra 
Nevadas,  and  had  lived  for  two  years  and  more  on 
the  gold- washed  shores  of  the  lovely  Pacific.  And 
having  breathed  the  pure  and  balmy  atmosphere 
of  the  West,  we  were  not  only  intoxicated  with 


ATTENTION  TURNED  TO  THE  WEST.     123 

the  pure  and  exhilarating  atmosphere,  but  delighted 
with  the  bewitching  scenery,  the  push,  and  the 
wonderful  activity  so  characteristic  of  the  people 
in  the  western  part  of  the  New  World.  Time  and 
again  we  turned  our  anxious  eyes  to  the  romantic 
scenery  of  the  Great  West,  which  had  previously 
charmed  us.  We  were  not  satisfied  to  remain  in 
Indiana.  Every  thing  there  seemed  so  old  and 
staid.  We  wanted  a  wider  sphere  for  action,  and 
I  can  assure  the  reader  that,  when  we  reached  the 
plains  of  Nebraska  we  had  a  wide  berth  and  a 
sphere  of  almost  unlimited  bounds  for  action. 

At  that  time  much  was  being  said  in  the  papers 
about  the  new  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska. The  eyes  of  thousands  were  turned  thither. 
For  some  time  we  had  been  watching  the  move- 
ments of  the  Church  along  the  border.  Kev.  W. 
H.  Goode,  an  old  Indiana  man,  was  leading  the 
hosts  of  Zion  in  Nebraska.  We  had  read  with 
interest  his  letters  in  the  Advocate.  We  were 
restless  and  not  at  all  satisfied  where  we  were. 
AVe  were  serving  our  second  year  on  the  Sanford 
Circuit;  and  although  we  had  a  good  work,  and 
many  souls  had  been  saved,  still  there  was  no  at- 
traction there.  There  was  an  unaccountable  draw- 
ing towards  the  frontier. 

In  the  spring  of  1858  we  saw,  in  the  Western 
Christian  Advocate,  the  appointments  of  the  Kan- 
sas and   Nebraska  Conference.      A   number   of 


124  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD, 

charges  in  Nebraska  were  left  to  be  supplied.  I 
wrote  to  William  M.  Smith,  a  brother  of  mine, 
who  was  then  pastor  at  Omaha,  telling  him  our 
desire  to  go  to  the  West,  and  to  spend  our  lives 
in  laying  the  foundations  and  building  up  the 
Church  along  the  border.  He  saw  the  presiding 
elder,  W.  H.  Goode,  and  immediately  wrote  us, 
saying  that  Brother  Goode  would  like  to  have  us 
come  at  once  and  supply  Bellevue  Mission  until 
conference.  No  sooner  did  we  receive  this  word 
than  we  set  about  preparing  to  move.  In  a  few 
weeks  we  had  everything  arranged,  and  were 
ready  to  bid  a  final  adieu  to  friends  and  relatives 
and  the  old  home  Conference.  As  strong  as  was 
the  drawing  towards  the  West,  and  as  earnestly 
as  we  desired  to  go,  the  severing  of  tender  ties 
and  cherished  friends  was  not  an  easy  task. 

We  have  never  had  a  doubt  but  that  God  led 
us  to  adopt  Nebraska  as  our  permanent  home. 
In  all  we  see  most  unmistakably  the  hand  of  God. 
June  23,  1858,  all  things  being  ready,  we  bade 
adieu  to  weeping  friends,  and  started  for  our  future 
distant  home  on  the  frontier.  If  we  had  known 
]ust  what  was  before  us,  the  trials,  the  sacrifices, 
the  hardships,  we  doubtless  would  have  shrank 
from  the  undertaking.  It  was  well  we  did  not 
know.  It  is  well  no  one  can  see  his  future  path- 
way.    God  wisely  conceals  from  us  the  future. 

We  took   the  cars   at  Terre   Haute,  reaching 


ATTENTION  TURNED  TO  THE  WEST,      125 

St.  Louis  early  the  next  morning.  This  was 
Thursday.  Here  we  remained  until  the  next 
Monday  before  we  could  get  a  through  boat  to 
Omaha.  Monday  morning  we  paid  our  fare,  and 
went  on  board  the  steamer  Sioux  City.  The 
captain  said  we  would  be  off  in  a  short  time. 
The  fireman  w^as  shoveling  coal  in  the  furnace, 
the  smoke  was  pouring  out  of  the  smoke-stack, 
and  it  seemed  from  the  stir  on  board  that  we 
would  be  on  our  way  in  a  very  little  while.  We 
looked  every  moment  the  whole  live-long  day  for 
the  boat  to  start,  but  looked  in  vain.  Tuesday 
morning  came.  The  firemen  were  busy  at  work, 
and  every  thing  indicated  that  we  would  start  in 
a  very  little  while;  but  the  day  closed,  and  we 
were  still  lying  at  anchor.  Wednesday  came, 
and  went  as  Tuesday  had.  Thursday  came, 
Friday  came,  Saturday  came,  and  we  were  still 
lying  at  the  wharf.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon the  steamer  weighed  anchor,  floated  out  into 
the  middle  of  the  Mississippi,  and  slowly  started 
up  the  stream.  It  was  a  wonderful  relief,  and 
we  began  to  breathe  easy,  for  we  had  been  for 
ten  days  in  the  deepest  suspense. 

The  weather  was  hot,  the  water  warm  and 
muddy,  and  the  mosquitoes  were  just  fearful. 
The  heat  and  mosquitoes  tormented  us  without  by 
night  and  by  day,  and  the  warm,  muddy  water 
made  us  sick  within;   and,  all  in  all,  the  trip  was 


126  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

most  unpleasant.  The  mosquitoes  were  galli- 
nippers,  and  as  numerous,  it  seemed,  as  the  swarms 
of  flies  that  tormented  Pharaoh  and  his  servants, 
and  corrupted  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

The  second  day  after  leaving  St.  Louis  our 
steamer  stuck  fast  on  a  sand-bar,  and  remained 
some  six  hours  before  she  got  off.  In  less  than  a 
half  a  day  afterwards  she  stuck  fast  again,  and  re- 
mained for  several  hours.  How  many  times  Ave 
were  aground  on  sand-bars  during  the  trip,  I  am 
unable  to  say,  but  not  a  day  passed  but  what  we 
struck  one  or  more.  Sometimes  our  steamer 
would  back  and  get  off  at  once ;  at  other  times  she 
would  work  for  hours  before  getting  away.  The 
only  thing  we  could  do  was  to  wait  and  be  pa- 
tient, and  while  away  the  weary  hours  the  best 
way  we  possibly  could.  The  first  two  or  three 
days  out  we  had  good  ice- water  to  drink,  and  nice 
cream  for  our  tea  and  coffee.  After  that,  how- 
ever, we  were  compelled  to  drink  the  warm  and 
muddy  w^ater  of  the  Missouri,  and  instead  of  cream 
we  had  chalk-water  for  our  coffee  and  tea,  while 
almost  everything  else  on  board  seemed  in  keep- 
ing with  the  filthy  water  and  the  sham  cream. 

Aside  from  the  fare,  we  were  treated  with  great 
kindness.  The  captain  was  a  perfect  gentleman, 
and  his  wife  a  most  estimable  Christian  lady  and 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Their  two   daughters  were  on  board  also.     The 


ATTENTION  TURNED  TO  THE  WEST-     127 

whole  family  was  one  of  the  most  pleasant  it  has 
ever  been  our  privilege  to  meet,  and  their  kind, 
social,  and  genial  manner  made  the  trip  much 
more  pleasant  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been. 

After  ten  days'  weary  travel  on  the  "  Big 
Muddy,"  in  the  afternoon  of  July  13th  our 
steamer  struck  the  Omaha  landing,  threw  out 
her  cable,  and  we  stepped  ashore,  glad  to  bid 
a  final  adieu  to  the  Sioux  City.  That  night 
we  took  tea  with  the  kind  family  of  Colonel 
John  Ritchie.  My  brother  and  family  were 
visiting  at  the  colonel's.  From  all  we  received 
a  warm  welcome  and  the  most  kindly  greeting. 
Brother  Ritchie  was  one  of  the  leading  members, 
and  one  of  the  stewards  of  the  Omaha  Station, 
and  afterwards,  while  pastor  of  our  Church  in 
Omaha,  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  mem- 
bers we  had. 

We  were  just  three  weeks  coming  from  Terre 
Haute  to  Omaha.  The  same  distance  can  now 
be  traveled  in  less  than  two  days. 


128  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD, 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL. 

Methodism  Cosmopolitan — Missionaries  sent  to  Oregon 
IN  1834 — Planning  to  capture  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska FOR  Christ — The  Territories  organized — 
The  Bishops  send  out  William  H.  Goode  as  a 
Scout — OurSuperintendency  an  Element  of  Power — 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  Conference  organized — 
Quantrell  burns  the  City  of  Lawrence — Second 
Conference— Bishop  Ames  and  Dr.  Poe  on  the 
MissiouRi  River — A  Heroine — A  Sermon  instead  of 
a  Dance — The  Third  Conference. 

BEFORE  proceeding  further  with  my  narra- 
tive, I  wish  to  go  back  with  the  reader  to 
the  first  evangelistic  work  in  the  Territory.  The 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  from  her  organiza- 
zation  has  been  a  pioneer  Church.  She  has  al- 
ways been  in  the  vanguard  of  the  advancing  tide 
of  emigration. 

When  the  doors  of  the  Established  Church  of 
England  were  closed  against  Mr.  Wesley,  and  he 
was  not  allowed  to  preach  in  the  churches,  he 
felt  that,  while  these  buildings  belonged  to  the 
"  Establishment,  the  out-of-doors  belonged  to  the 
Lord."     He   went  out  on   the  commons,  and  on 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL.  129 

the  streets,  and  on  the  public  highways,  he  pro- 
claimed to  the  people  the  glad  tidiugs  of  salva- 
tion. When  questioned  as  to  his  good  faith  in 
holding  out-of-door  services  without  the  consent 
of  the  local  clergy,  his  reply  was :  "  The  world  is 
my  parish."  These  famous  words  which  fell 
from  the  lips  of  John  Wesley  when  driven  from 
the  churches,  have  been  more  quoted,  perhaps, 
than  any  other  of  his  sayings.  For  more  than 
a  hundred  years  these  inspiring  words  have 
been  the  rallying  cry  of  the  ministers  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I  am  glad  that 
Methodism  has  never  lost  the  spirit  of  her 
founder.  To-day,  as  a  hundred  years  ago,  the  ral- 
lying cry  of  our  noble  leaders  is  :  ''^  The  world  is 
my  parish. '^  The  fire  that  burned  in  the  hearts 
of  the  fathers,  burns  in  the  hearts  of  the  children. 
The  zeal  that  inspired  Wesley,  inspires  his 
worthy  sons. 

The  authorities  of  the  Church  have  their  eyes 
open,  and  they  see  every  new  field,  and  are 
ready  to  enter  every  open  door.  By  the  side  of  the 
emigrant,  whether  blazing  his  way  through  dense 
forests,  or. pushing  his  w^ay  over  pathless  and 
treeless  prairies,  the  faithful  Methodist  preacher 
has  always  been  found.  While  the  hardy  pio- 
neer has  opened  and  developed  the  material  re- 
sources of  the  new  Territories,  the  Methodist 
itinerant  has  looked  after  the  spiritual  wants  of 


130  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

the  people.  So  that,  under  the  self-sacrificing 
devotion  of  the  toiling  missionary  of  the  cross, 
the  spiritual  has  kept  pace  with  the  material  de- 
velopment of  the  country. 

In  1832  four  Indians  belonging  to  the  Flat- 
head tribe  came  to  St.  Louis  from  the  western 
slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  asking  for  a 
knowledge  of  the  Bible.  Notice  of  this  was 
published  in  1833,  which  came  to  the  eyes  of  the 
authorities  of  the  Church.  Here  was  an  open 
door,  which  they  felt  must  at  once  be  entered. 
The  Missionary  Board  sent  out  Jason  Lee  and 
Daniel  Lee  as  missionaries,  that  they  might  give 
to  these  inquiring  Red-men  of  the  Pacific  Slope 
the  desire  of  their  hearts.  The  Lees  crossed  the 
continent  in  1834,  and  preached  and  opened  a 
school  at  Wallawalla. 

This  w^as  fourteen  years  before  Oregon  was  or- 
ganized as  a  Territory,  for  it  was  not  until  1848 
that  the  Territory  of  Oregon  was  organized.  In 
1847  the  eyes  of  many  were  turned  to  Oregon. 
The  Church  saw  this,  and,  taking  time  by  the 
forelock,  missionaries  w^ere  sent  out  by  our  Board 
to  look  after  the  spiritual  needs  of  th.e  emigrants 
soon  to  pour  into  this  new  country. 

William  Roberts  and  James  H.  Wilbur  were 
sent  to  do  this  work.  While  on  their  way  they 
entered  the  Golden  Gate  on  a  sailing  vessel 
which  cast  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco. 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL.  131 

A  small  Mexican  village,  made  of  adobe  bricks 
and  covered  with  earthern  tiles,  had  been  built 
among  the  sand-hills.  *^This  was  San  Francisco 
in  embryo."  California  at  that  period  was  a 
portion  of  Mexico,  but  the  same  year  was  ceded 
to  the  United  States  by  the  Mexican  Govern- 
ment. As  the  ship  would  not  proceed  on  her 
voyage  up  the  coast  for  some  weeks,  Mr.  Roberts 
and  his  colleague  deemed  it  proper  to  get  all  the 
information  possible  touching  the  country.  They 
made  journeys  on  horseback  during  the  week  to 
the  various  villages  in  the  valleys,  and  returned 
and  spent  their  Sundays  in  San  Francisco.  Six 
persons  were  found  who  had  been  Methodists  in 
other  lands.  They  were  formed  into  a  class,  and 
Aquila  Glover  was  appointed  class-leader.  A 
Sunday-school  was  also  organized.  This  was  the 
first  Methodist  society  in  California,  and  the  first 
Protestant  organization  on  the  Pacific  Coast  south 
of  the  Oregon  Mission.  Having  spent  forty  days 
in  explorations  around  San  Francisco,  they  pro- 
ceeded northward  to  the  field  of  labor  assigned 
them  by  the  Church. 

When  I  reached  California  in  1850,  three 
years  afterwards,  I  found  Methodist  ministers  al- 
most everywhere.  In  every  little  village  and 
mining  camp  was  found  the  ubiquitous  Methodist 
itinerant.  The  Methodist  evangel  is  graphically 
symbolized  by  St.  John   in   his  apocalyptic  vis- 


132  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

ion  of  the  "angel  flying  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  to  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth. '^  Wherever  the  people 
go  to  plant  a  city  or  a  State,  there  Methodism 
goes  to  plant  the  Church  and  the  school,  and  to 
direct  the  people  to  that  city  "  which  hath  foun- 
dation, whose  builder  and  maker  is  God."  Meth- 
odism is  truly  cosmopolitan. 

Long  before  Kansas  and  Nebraska  were  or- 
ganized into  Territories  our  Church  authorities 
were  planning  to  capture  them  for  Christ.  The 
organization  of  these  two  Territories  caused  a  long 
and  bitter  controversy  in  Congress.  During  all 
this  controversy  the  Church  had  an  eye  upon 
the  spiritual  interests  of  the  people  soon  to  flow 
into  this  new  land. 

In  1820  an  act  had  been  passed  by  Congress 
prohibiting  slavery  from  the  Territories  north  of 
36°  30'.  This  was  known  as  the  "  Missouri  Com- 
promise.'*  In  1854  a  bill  was  passed  by  Con- 
gress to  organize  two  Territories,  to  be  called 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  with  a  provision  that  the 
act  of  1820  should  not  apply  to  these  Territories. 
The  question  created  the  most  intense  excite- 
ment throughout  the  Nation.  In  almost  every 
city,  village,  and  neighborhood  the  matter  was  dis- 
cussed. The  people  of  the  North  were  indignant, 
the  people  of  the  South  generally  rejoiced. 

No  sooner  had  the  bill  passed  than  population 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL.  133 

from  the  North  and  the  South  flowed  rapidly  into 
the  new  Territories,  each  desirous  of  getting  con- 
trol. The  great  battle-field  of  the  j)ro-slavery  men 
and  anti-slavery  men  was  Kansas,  and  here  for  some 
time  the  storm  raged  fearfully.  What  was  known 
as  "border  ruffianism"  for  awhile  reigned  tri- 
umphant. The  scenes  that  were  acted  and  the 
outrages  committed  upon  the  innocent  and  help- 
less during  these  troubles,  beggar  all  description. 
A  Methodist  minister,  an  eye-witness  of  some 
of  these  outrages  and  atrocious  crimes,  related 
them  to  the  writer  in  1861.  They  are  too 
shameful  and  harrowing,  however,  to  place  upon 
record.  To  shoot  down,  in  cold  blood,  helpless 
women  and  children,  is  an  awful  crime.  But  to 
torture  to  death  by  slow  and  the  most  infamous 
and  cruel  processes  that  human  ingenuity  can  in- 
vent, is  a  thing  too  monstrous  to  be  described.  I 
prefer  to  let  the  curtain  of  oblivion  fall  and  hide 
forever  these  awful  scenes  and  crimes  from  the 
gaze  of  men. 

The  first  election  resulted  in  the  triumph  of 
the  pro-slavery  interest.  But  in  1859  the  free 
party  triumphed,  and  Kansas  was  finally  admitted 
as  a  free  State.  In  Nebraska  the  slavery  ques- 
tion did  not  disturb  the  people  as  in  Kansas. 

Shortly  after  the  passage  of  the  organizing  act, 
in  the  spring  of  1854,  three  of  the  bishops  met  in 
Baltimore.    Their  attention  was  turned  to  the  new 


134         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

field  providentially  opened.  They  unanimously 
agreed  to  enter  at  once  the  open  door,  feeling  as- 
sured that  a  mighty  tide  of  emigration  would  soon 
roll  into  the  new  empire.  Thousands  of  immor- 
tal souls  would  soon  be  there,  all  purchased  by 
the  blood  of  Christ.  These  thousands  would  need 
the  bread  of  life,  and  they  determined  to  give  it 
to  them.  They  knew  but  little  of  the  country 
and  its  needs.  They  determined  therefore  to 
send  out  a  scout  to  reconnoiter  this  extensive  field. 
The  Rev.  William  H.  Goode,  of  the  North  Indiana 
Conference,  was  the  man  selected  for  this  important 
and  responsible  work,  receiving  his  appointment 
from  Bishop  Ames,  June  3,  1854.  He  was  au- 
thorized to  explore  the  country  thoroughly,  to 
collect  all  the  information  possible,  to  ascertain 
the  wants  of  the  people,  and  how  many  men  Avould 
be  needed  to  take  up  the  work,  and  at  what  points 
they  should  be  placed. 

Five  days  after  receiving  his  formal  appoint- 
ment from  the  bishop  he  was  on  his  way  to  the 
frontier. 

One  great  element  of  our  success  as  a  Church  has 
been  inhersuperintendency, — the  general  superin- 
tendency  of  the  bishops,  and  the  special  superin- 
tendency  of  the  presiding  elders.  If  a  preacher 
falls  at  the  post  of  duty,  or  for  any  cause  whatever 
leaves  his  work,  the  presiding  elder  is  on  the 
ground,  and   is  prepared  in  a  few  days  to  supply 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL.  135 

the  place;  and  the  work  goes  on  as  smoothly  and 
harmoniously  as  if  no  change  had  occurred.  If 
a  new  field  opens  in  some  far-away  territory,  or 
on  some  distant  island  or  continent,  the  bishops 
at  once  set  about  having  this  field  occupied.  They 
generally  know  of  well-qualified  men  who  are 
ready  to  go  anywhere  with  the  message  of  salva- 
tion ;  an  J  they  say  "  go/^  and  they  go  with  alac- 
rity and  delight.  On  the  5th  day  of  July,  1854, 
Brother  Goode  entered  Kansas  Territory,  and  first 
visited  the  Wyandotte  Mission,  then  in  charge  of 
Rev.  John  M.  Chivington.  Then  he  passed  up 
through  the  Territory,  entered  Nebraska,  and 
pushed  his  way  as  far  north  as  there  were  any  settle- 
ments. After  a  personal  survey  of-  the  field,  which 
took  several  months,  he  returned  to  Indiana,  and  in 
his  report  to  the  bishops  said  there  were  in  the  two 
Territories  some  five  hundred  families,  and  recom- 
mended that  four  mission  circuits  be  established, 
two  in  Nebraska  and  two  in  Kansas ;  and  that  the 
two  Territories  should  be  included  in  one  district, 
with  a  presiding  elder  or  superintendent  of  mis- 
sions, who  should  travel  at  large,  make  further 
discoveries,  organize  new  fields  of  labor,  and  em- 
ploy preachers  as  occasion  required.  His  sug- 
gestions were  approved  by  the  appointing  power, 
and  carried  into  effect  that  fall.  Brother  Goode 
was  transferred  to  the  Missouri  Conference  and 
appointed  presiding  elder  of  the  Kansas  and  Ne- 


136  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

braska  District.  He  traveled  through  the  district 
comprising  the  two  Territories  for  one  year.  Dur- 
ing the  year  many  new  charges  were  made  and 
supplies  obtained.  Among  the  men  employed  by 
Brother  Goode  that  year  was  Hiram  Burch,  whose 
name  is  familiar  throughout  Nebraska  Methodism. 
Brother  Burch  was  sent  to  take  charge  of  the 
Wolf  E-iver  Mission.  At  the  next  Conference  he 
was  admitted  on  trial,  and  appointed  to  Nebraska 
City,  and  has  been  a  faithful  and  devoted  worker 
in  Nebraska  for  thirty-six  years. 

In  the  fall  of  1855,  Brother  Goode  visited  the 
Iowa  Conference,  which  met  at  Keokuk,  and  re- 
ported to  it  the  work  in  the  two  Territories.  The 
Conference  passed  resolutions  requesting  the 
General  Conference  to  form  a  new  Conference 
comprising  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska. From  the  Iowa  Conference  Brother 
Goode  went  to  Saint  Louis,  and  reported  his  worli 
to  the  Missouri  Conference,  which  concurred  with 
the  action  of  the  Iowa  Conference  requesting 
the  organization  of  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
Conference.  Three  districts  were  made  in  the 
two  Territories,  two  in  Kansas  and  one  in  Ne- 
braska. Brother  Goode  was  temporarily  trans- 
ferred to  the  Iowa  Conference,  and  appointed  pre- 
siding elder  of  the  Nebraska  District,  and  the  two 
districts  in  Kansas  were  supplied  from  the  Mis- 
souri Conference. 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL,  137 

The  winter  of  1855-6  was  one  of  intense  se- 
verity. The  cold  weather  was  wide-spread,  ex- 
tending from  the  Dominion  of  Canada  on  the 
north  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  south,  and 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coast.  That  win- 
ter I  was  traveling  my  first  circuit  in  Indiana — 
the  Russellville  Circuit.  It  was  in  a  heavily  tim- 
bered country,  and  we  rarely  ever  felt  the  winds, 
but  the  mercury  often  dropped  to  twenty  degrees 
below  zero.  In  Nebraska,  however,  it  was  dif- 
ferent. In  addition  to  the  intense  cold,  the 
winds,  unbroken  by  a  single  forest  from  the  snow- 
crowned  summits  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  sweep- 
ing for  hundreds  of  miles  over  fields  of  ice  and 
snow,  reached  the  unprotected  settlers.  Cattle  in 
large  numbers  were  frozen  to  death,  travel  was 
almost  entirely  suspended,  and  many  human  lives 
were  sacrificed.  Brother  Goode  in  his  book, 
'^  Outposts  of  Zion,"  gives  the  following:  '^  A 
man  and  his  son,  who  had  forced  their  way  with 
a  load  of  provisions,  for  thirty  miles  through 
cold  and  snow,  perished  within  one  mile  of 
home.  I  often  visited  the  bereaved  and  helpless 
widow  and  orphans.  I  personally  knew  another 
case  not  less  sad:  A  father  and  son,  named 
Poe,  set  out  on  foot  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Nebraska  City  in  search  of  claims:  the  father 
aged    but  robust,  the  son  a  lad  of  fifteen.     Some 

days  were   spent   in    searching,  when    they  were 

12 


138         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

caught  in  a  snow-storm.  They  spent  clays  and 
nights  without  fire,  taking  refuge  in  a  vacant  cabin, 
where  they  found  some  abandoned  bedding.  They 
cut  their  boots  from  their  frozen  limbs,  and  ap- 
plied bandages  of  strips  torn  from  the  bed-cloth- 
ing. Unable  to  walk,  they  made  an  attempt  to 
crawl  away ;  but  their  strength  failed,  and  they 
returned  to  the  cabin.  The  father  folded  his  son 
in  his  arms,  and  lay  down  to  die.  At  that  mo- 
ment a  man  appeared,  attracted  by  the  noise  ;  help 
was  obtained,  and  they  were  removed.  The  son 
soon  died.  I  saw  the  father  in  extreme  agony ; 
some  of  his  limbs  were  amputated,  and  he  expected 
further  dismemberment.  But  death  came  to 
his  relief.  The  morning  following  my  visit  I  was 
sent  for  to  preach  at  his  funeral.  In  all  his  suffer- 
ings he  expressed  Christian  peace  and  confidence 
in  God.^^  Eternity  alone  will  reveal  the  terrible 
suffering  endured  by  the  settlers  during  that  and 
the  following  winter.  They  are  memorable  in 
history  as  winters  of  intense  cold. 

At  the  ensuing  General  Conference  the  request 
of  the  Iowa  and  Missouri  Conferences  was  carried 
into  effect,  and  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Confer- 
ence was  formed. 

The  first  session  of  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
Conference  was  held  in  the  city  of  Lawrence, 
Kansas  Territory,  October  23-25,  1856,  Bishop 
Osmon  C.  Baker  presiding.     At  this  time  *'  border 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL,  139 

ruffianism"  Avas  rampant.  Great  excitement  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  Territory,  and  grave  fears 
were  entertained  by  the  preachers  from  the  pro- 
slavery  element.  Lawrence  was  founded  in  1864, 
and  became  the  head-quarters  of  the  anti-slavery 
settlers  of  Kansas.  The  pro-slavery  party  never 
had  any  peculiar  love  for  the  place.  On  August 
21,  1863,  it  was  surprised  by  a  band  of  three  hun- 
dred Confederate  guerrillas,  led  by  Quantrell,  who 
killed  one  hundred  and  forty-live  of  the  inhab- 
itants, and  burned  the  city.  The  history  of  that 
bloody  massacre  is  before  the  world. 

When  the  Conference  assembled,  the  city  pre- 
sented a  warlike  appearance.  Strong  fortifications 
had  been  made.  United  States  troops  in  large 
numbers  were  quartered  there,  and  a  strong  body 
of  the  Territorial  militia. 

Some  of  the  preachers  attending  this  Confer- 
ence had  not  only  spiritual  weapons,  but  carnal 
weapons  as  w^ll.  From  occurrences  that  were 
constantly  taking  place,  these  preachers  felt  that 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  them  to  be  ready 
for  any  emergency ;  not  to  be  ready  would  be  cul- 
pable negligence  on  their  part.  The  Conference 
was  held  in  a  large  tent,  and  was  pleasant  and 
harmonious  throughout.  Eleven  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  members,  including  probationers,  were 
reported ;  of  these,  three  hundred  and  two  were 
in   Nebraska.      The   bishops   were    requested   to 


140  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

change  the  time  of  the  annual  session  from  fall 
to  spring,  which  request  was  complied  with,  and 
the  time  fixed  for  the  next  Conference  was  April 
16,  1857.  This  change  reduced  the  first  Confer- 
ence year  to  six  months.  Nebraska  City  was  the 
place  fixed  for  the  next  session. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  appointments  of 
the  Nebraska  District  of  the  first  session  of  the 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  Conference  : 

Nebraska  District. 

Wm.  H.  Goode, Presiding  Elder. 

Omaha  City, •    .    .    .  J.  M.  Chivington. 

Florence, Isaac  F.  Collins. 

Fontanelle, To  be  supplied. 

Omadi, To  be  supplied. 

Rock  Blufis, J.  T.  Cannon. 

Nebraska  City, Hiram  Burch, 

Brownville, J.  W.  Taylor. 

Nemaha, To  be  supplied. 

The  winter  of  1856-7,  like  the  previous  one, 
was  memorable  for  its  severity.  Many  during  the 
winter  were  frozen  to  death,  and  in  various  parts 
of  the  Territory  stock  in  large  numbers  perished. 

Bishop  Ames  was  to  preside  at  the  second  ses- 
sion of  the  Conference.  But  on  the  morning  of 
the  opening  of  the  session  the  bishop  was  on  board 
a  Missouri  steamer,  hundreds  of  miles  below,  en- 
deavoring to  make  his  way  up  against  the  mighty 
current.  Mr.  Goode  was  elected  president,  and 
presided  with  dignity  and  satisfaction  to  the  Con- 
ference.     He   was  a   good  officer,   and  business 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL.  141 

was  transacted  with  dispatch.  He  would  have 
made  an  excellent  bishop,  and  at  one  time  he 
lacked  but  a  few  votes  of  reaching  that  honora- 
ble place.  The  bishop  arrived  late,  reviewed, 
approved,  and  read  the  appointments.  Two  dis- 
tricts were  made  in  Nebraska;  Omaha  District, 
including  the  territory  north  of  the  Great  Platte 
River;  and  Nebraska  City  District,  including  the 
territory  south  of  the  Great  Platte. 

J.  M.  Chivington  was  appointed  presiding  elder 
of  the  Nebraska  City  District,  and  AY.  H.  Goode 
presiding  elder  of  the  Omaha  District.  Three 
districts  were  made  in  Kansas;  so  the  Conference 
had  five  districts  in  all. 

Doctor  Adam  Poe,  Agent  of  the  Methodist  Book 
Concern,  accompanied  Bishop  Ames  to  this  Con- 
ference. At  a  subsequent  Conference,  the  Doctor 
gave  an  account  of  that  memorable  trip.  Their 
journey  up  the  turbid  and  dangerous  stream  was 
slow,  and  was  made  under  very  great  difficulties. 
One  dark  night  the  boat  tied  up,  as  was  the  cus- 
tom on  dark  nights.  During  the  night  she  broke 
loose  from  her  moorings,  drifted  down  the  stream, 
and  for  a  long  time  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  fear- 
ful and  dangerous  current.  The  engineer  at 
length  succeeded  in  getting  up  steam,  and  again 
she  began  to  stem  the  mighty  tide. 

On  Sunday,  as  the  steamer  was  slowly  making 
her  way  up  the  river,  an  incident  occurred  which 


142         SOLITARY  PLAGES  MADE  GLAD. 

shows  the  wonderful  influence  and  power  of  the 
family  altar  and  the  Sunday-school. 

Dr.  Poe  said :  ^'  There  was  a  young  man  on 
board  who  was  very  officious  and  pert.  He  was 
exceedingly  anxious  to  have  a  dance.  The  cabin 
was  cleared,  a  fiddler  employed,  and  everything 
was  made  ready  for  the  hop,  when  the  young 
man  stepped  up  to  a  young  lady  who  sat  at  my 
side,  and,  after  a  very  polite  bow,  said :  *  Will  you 
dance  with  me?' 

"  ^  No,  sir ;  I  was  better  raised,'  was  the  prompt 
reply. 

"  'And  where  were  you  raised  ?'  said  the  young 
man,  somewhat  abashed. 

" '  In  the  Sunday-school  and  at  the  family  altar  ?' 
calmly  replied  the  lady.  Involuntarily  I  clapped 
my  hand  on  her  shoulder  and  said,  '  Good  !'  [Dr. 
Poe  was  a  tall  man,  standing  six  feet  in  his  stock- 
ings, and  proportionately  large  in  body.] 

"The  young  man  squared  himself  up,  thinking 
he  saw  something  in  my  proportions  that  would 
do  to  fight,  and  then  said,  'Well,  if  we  can't  have 
a  dance,  perhaps  we  can  have  a  sermon.'  '  Yes, 
sir;'  said  I.  Knowing  the  bishop  could  preach 
much  better  than  I,  we  put  him  up,  and  Bishop 
Ames  gave  us  one  of  his  best." 

The  young  lady  and  her  parents  left  the  boat 
at  Nebraska  City,  intending  to  make  their  home 
somewhere  in  the  interior  of  the  State.     Dr.  Poe 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL.  148 

was  auxious  to  learn  something  of  the  future 
history  of  that  noble  young  lady.  He  thought 
Nebraska  had  nothing  to  fear,  composed  of  settlers 
with  the  courage  and  mettle  manifested  in  that 
graceful  heroine. 

The  third  session  of  the  Conference  was  held 
in  Topeka,  Kansas,  beginning  April  15,  1858, 
Bishop  E.  S.  Janes  presiding.  Early  in  the  month 
the  preachers  in  Nebraska  left  their  fields  of  labor, 
and  started  on  horseback,  with  their  saddle-bags, 
in  the  old-fashioned  way,  for  their  Annual  Con- 
ference. On  the  10th  of  April,  some  fifteen  of 
these  hardy,  toil-worn  pioneers  concentrated  at 
Falls  City,  where  Brother  Goode  was  holding  a. 
quarterly  meeting.  They  spent  a  delightful  day 
together,  and,  with  the  good  people  of  the  infant 
town,  enjoyed  "seasons  of  refreshing  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord.''  As  the  country  over 
which  they  were  to  travel  was  new  and  strange 
to  the  most  of  them,  they  determined  to  select 
competent  guides ;  accordingly,  they  elected  two 
of  their  number  who  were  best  acquainted  with  the 
country,  and  put  themselves  under  their  guidance, 
all  agreeing  to  follow  faithfully  their  instructionso 

They  were  ordered  to  meet  at  a  certain  place 
on  Monday  morning.  Monday  morning  came, 
cold,  snowy,  dreary,  and  forbidding  in  the  ex- 
treme, but  all  were  on  hand  at  the  appointed  hour 
and  place.    The  weather,  no  matter  what  it  may 


144  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

be,  rarely  stops  a  Methodist  preacher  on  his  way 
to  an  appointment.  Through  drenching  rains, 
blinding  snow-storms,  and  fearful  blizzards,  he  is 
found  pushing  his  way  to  meet  the  promised  en- 
gagement. And  by  this  heroic,  self-sacrificing 
spirit,  Methodism  is  planted  almost  everywhere. 

From  Falls  City  they  passed  down  to  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Nemaha  River,  where  they  crossed 
the  stream  in  a  ferry-boat.  The  ferry  was  an  old- 
fashioned  flat-boat,  not  very  inviting,  and  withal 
not  the  safest  in  appearance.  They  dismounted, 
led  their  horses  onto  the  boat,  and  held  them  by 
their  bridles  until  they  reached  the  other  side. 
.While  crossing,  when  near  the  middle  of  the 
river,  Brother  Turman's  horse  jumped  overboard 
into  the  stream.  Brother  Turman  held  onto  the 
bridle,  and  the  animal,  by  the  side  of  the  boat, 
swam  to  shore,  then  remounting  his  horse,  drip- 
ping with  water,  and  riding  up  by  the  side  of 
Brother  Burch,  said  in  a  whisper :  "  Brother 
Burch,  I  have  just  found  out  the  sentiment  of  my 
horse.  He  is  a  Campbellite.  I  will  sell  him.  I 
won^t  have  such  a  horse.''  Only  those  knowing 
his  great  aversion  to  the  doctrine  of  Campbeilism 
can  appreciate  the  above  remarks.  Campbeilism 
and  Calvinism  were  both  extremely  obnoxious  to 
him. 

After  a  weary  ride  through  rain  and  mud  and 
snow,  the  seat    of  the   Annual    Conference   was 


THE  PIONEER  EVANGEL.  145 

reached.  The  year  had  been  one  of  exposure,  of 
toil,  and  of  sacrifice.  It  had  been  a  year  of  great 
spiritual  victories  as  well.  The  toils,  the  sacri- 
fices, the  victories  and  triumphs  of  that  year  are 
fittingly  described  by  Charles  Wesley : 

''What  troubles  have  we  seen, 

What  conflicts  have  we  passed, — 
Fightings  without,  and  fears  within, 

Since  we  assembled  last ! 
But  out  of  all  the  Lord 

Hath  brought  us  by  his  love ; 
And  still  he  doth  his  help  afford, 

And  hides  our  life  above." 

At  this  Conference  another  district  was  formed 
in  Kansas,  making  in  all  six  districts. 

A  wild  and  reckless  spirit  of  speculation  had 
prevailed  among  many  of  the  people.  Towns  all 
over  the  Territories  were  laid  out,  wild-cat  banks 
were  established,  and  the  country  was  flooded 
with  worthless  bank-notes.  The  result  of  all  this 
was  disastrous,  both  to  the  Church  and  the 
country.  Confidence  in  the  people  was  to  a  great 
extent  destroyed.  But,  notwithstanding  all  these 
demoralizing  influences,  the  year  had  been  one  of 
great  prosperity  to  the  Church.  The  member- 
ship had  more  than  doubled;  the  population  had 
increased  greatly ;  peace  had  prevailed ;  the  future 
outlook  was  hopeful,  and  preachers  and  people 
were  of  good  cheer. 

In  four  years  the  Church  had  grown,  in  the 


146^  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

two  Territories,  from  nothing  to  an  Annual 
Conference  with  six  districts,  fifty-seven  appoint- 
ments, and  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  members.  This  growth  Avas  phenomenal. 
True,  the  area  was  large.  It  was  an  empire 
within  itself.  It  was  the  "Great  American 
Desert."  But  this  desert,  true  to  prophecy, 
was  beginning  to  "rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose." 

The  wonderful  growth  of  the  Avork  in  the  new 
Territories  is  most  aptly  described  in  another  of 
Charles  Wesley's  beautiful  hymns: 

"  When  he  first  the  work  began, 

Small  and  feeble  was  his  day ; 
Now  the  word  doth  swiftly  run, 

Now  it  wins  its  widening  way. 
More  and  more  it  spreads  and  grows, 

Ever  mighty  to  prevail ; 
Sin's  strongholds  it  now  o'erthrows, 

Shakes  the  trembling  gates  of  hell." 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  147 


CHAPTER  XI. 

FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA. 

Crude  Ideas  of  Nebraska — Bellevue — Story  of  a  Dia- 
mond— How  THE  People  viewed  Us— Hunting  for  a 
Town  without  Houses — First  Sermon  in  Nebraska — 
Wild  Speculation  —  Its  Demoralizing  Effects — 
First  Quarterage  received— Glad  of  Green  Pump- 
kins—Thankful FOR  Potatoes  and  Salt — Hospital- 
ity of  Friends. 

THE  people  of  Massachusetts  at  one  time  de- 
cided that  the  country  would  not  be  settled 
west  of  Newton,  a  suburb  of  Boston.  And  the 
inhabitants  of  Lynn,  having  surveyed  the  country 
fifteen  miles  west,  determined  that  it  never 
would  be  densely  populated  beyond  that  point. 

When  we  first  reached  Nebraska,  we  be- 
lieved, and  so  did  everybody  else,  that  Ne- 
braska never  would  be  settled  west  of  the  first 
tier  of  counties  lying  along  the  Missouri  River. 
Coming  from  a  densely-timbered  country,  Ne- 
braska had  a  very  dreary  and  desolate  look.  We 
almost  feared  there  Avould  not  be  wood  enough  to 
keep  us  from  freezing  to  death  during  the  first 
winter.  In  1858  Nebraska  had  a  population  of 
about  sixteen  thousand    souls,  and     during   the 


148  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

few     following  years    the    population    decreased 
rather  than  increased. 

Many  became  discouraged,  and  declared  they 
would  not  stay  in  such  a  "God-forsaken  coun- 
try/' They  felt  that  God  had  intended  this 
country  for  the  Indians,  and  that  in  remaining 
they  were  trespassing  on  Indian  rights. 

Bellevue  was  our  first  appointment  in  Ne- 
braska. It  is  ten  miles  south  of  Omaha,  situated 
on  a  beautiful  plateau,  overlooking  for  miles  the 
Missouri  River.  It  is  said  that  in  1805  a  Span- 
ish adventurer  came  to  Bellevue,  and,  in  climb- 
ing the  bluff  to  the  plateau,  was  so  struck  with 
the  natural  beauty  of  the  spot  that  he  exclaimed, 
**  Bellevue '^ — "beautiful  place;''  hence  the  name. 

Something  more  is  necessary,  however,  to  make 
a  city  than  a  beautiful  location.  If  a  beautiful 
location  could  make  a  city,  Bellevue  would  have 
been  the  finest  and  largest  city  in  the  State.  A 
more  exquisite  spot  for  a  city  I  never  saw. 

Bellevue  at  that  time  was  the  county-seat  of 
Sarpy  County,  the  county  being  named  in  honor 
of  Colonel  Peter  A.  Sarpy.  From  1823  to  1855 
Colonel  Sarpy  was  agent  of  the  American  Fur 
Company  at  Bellevue.  He  was  raised  in  St.  Louis, 
and  brought  up  in  refinement.  But  when  he 
grew  to  manhood  he  preferred  the  freedom  of 
the  Western  prairies  to  the  gayety  and  refinement 
of  civilized  life. 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  149 

I  remember  reading  a  story  published  in  the 
Omaha  Herald  about  Colonel  Sarpy.  It  was 
told  by  the  Hon.  J.  Sterling  Morton,  and  was 
called 

"THE  STcSlY  OF  THE  DIAMOND. 

"The  beautiful  bluffs  that  rise  so  majestically 
from  the  mission  at  Bellevue,  shimmering  in  the 
morning  sunlight,  and  the  deep  verdure  that  cov- 
ered them  that  summer  day,  made  them  look  like  a 
string  of  gigantic  emeralds  just  fallen  from  the 
clouds.  Colonel  Peter  A.  Sarpy  met  me  that 
morning,  up  back  of  the  old  mission-house,  by 
the  grave  of  Big  Elk.  He  was  buoyant,  and  his 
eye  glistened,  and  he  was  in  the  best  of  health 
and  spirits.  He  was  dressed  neatly,  and  upon  his 
breast  I  noticed  for  the  first  time  a  diamond, 
which  gleamed  and  flashed  with  striking  brill- 
iancy. *  Colonel,'  said  I,  'you  have  been  add- 
ing to  your  jewels;'  and,  looking  steadily  at  the 
gem,  'is  that  something  new?'  'O  no,  my 
friend,'  said  he,  '  that  is  old,  very  old ;  and  I  will 
tell  you  all  about  it,  if  you  will  listen,  and  what 
is  to  come  of  it  in]  the  hereafter,  if  you  will.' 
He  continued :  '  Many,  many  years  ago,  when 
St.  Louis  was  a  village,  my  good  Catholic 
mother  died — may  God  rest  her  soul  in  peace ! — 
in  that  town.  We  children  followed  her  remains 
to  the  cemetery,  and  laid  them  quietly  in  the 
grave,  and   wept   until   our  eyes   could   weep   no 


150  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

more.  And  then,  shortly  after,  I  came  up  here 
to  Nebraska  among  the  Indians  to  trade,  and  my 
brother  John  remained  in  Saint  Louis.  But  a 
few  years  ago  I  went  down  to  that  city  to  pur- 
chase goods ;  and  one  afternoon,  after  I  had  been 
there  several  days,  my  brother  said,  "  Peter  I  want 
to  see  you  privately  in  the  counting-room,  to  talk 
about  the  dead;"  and  so  I  went  in,  and  John  said: 
"  Peter,  this  city  is  growing  very  rapidly.  It  is 
stretching  out  to  the  south  and  the  west  and  the 
north.  It  needs  more  room,  and  the  old  grave- 
yard where  our  mother  is  buried  must  be  given 
up.  We  must  remove  her  remains  to  another 
resting-place,  and  we  will  do  it  together  while 
you  are  here ;  we  will  do  it  to-morrow.^'  And  so 
the  very  next  day  we  went  to  our  mother's  grave, 
and  carefully  we  brought  the  coffin  to  the  light,  and 
lifted  it  up  tenderly  on  to  a  bier.  It  was  badly 
decayed.  The  top  was  moved  a  little  to  one 
side,  and  I  could  not  resist  a  desire  to  look  in. 
As  I  did,  the  sunlight  streamed  in,  and  I  saw 
something  gleaming  there.  At  once  I  remem- 
bered the  diamond  which  my  mother  had  worn 
always,  and  which  had  been  buried  on  her  breast, 
and  I  reached  in  and  took  it  out,  and  this  is  it 
w^hich  you  now  see. 

"^  It  is  mine  now;  and  when  these  bright  days 
come,  I  feel  young  again,  and  remembering  my 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  151 

mother,  I  put  it  on  and  wear  it;  for  it  makes 
me  a  better  man. 

^*  ^  It  is  a  charm,  sir;  and  the  memories  which  it 
brings  to  me  are  brighter  and  richer  and  more 
precious  than  all  the  gems  in  the  world ;  for  they 
are  the  sacred  recollections  of  a  Christian  mother, 
a  holy  woman,  whose  teachings  were  purer  than 
any  diamond  that  ever  glowed.  And  now,  while 
men  think  I  am  only  an  old  Indian  trader,  who 
sees  nothing  in  the  future,  who  believes  in  no 
destiny  for  this  beautiful  Nebraska  of  ours,  I 
know,  sir,  that  not  many  years  will  come  and  go  be- 
fore I,  too,  will  be  called  to  another  life  in  another 
world.  And  then  these  vast  plains  will  be  set- 
tled up;  somewhere  in  this  Missouri  Valley, 
perhaps  in  sight  of  where  we  now  stand,  a  great 
city  shall  have  been  builded.  Then  I  may  have 
been  in  my  grave  many  years.  And  some  day, 
very  likely,  they  will  come  to  you,  as  they  did 
to  brother  John  about  our  mother,  and  say : 
*'Here,  sir,  your  old  friend,  Peter  A.  Sarpy,  is 
in  the  way;  the  city  needs  more  room,  and,  sir, 
you  must  take  his  old  bones  away." 

*'  ^And  if  so,  do  it;  do  it  decently  and  kindly; 
but  remember  this  diamond.  Peep  into  my  old 
coffin.  It  is  a  pure  gem,  sir — first  water — and 
will  surely  flash  whenever  your  eye  can  see.  Then 
you  reach  in — I'll  be  still — and  snatch  the  dia- 
mond out,  and  put  it  on  and  wear  it. 


152  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

"*The  years  will  roll  on,  and  you  will  have 
grown  old ;  then  death  will  rap  at  your  door,  and 
you,  too,  will  have  come  into  another  life  in 
that  other  world.  Tell  your  boys  to  bury  this 
stone  with  you.  But  not  many  years  more  will 
have  followed  the  trail  of  those  who  have  gone 
into  the  shadowy  hunting-lands,  before  your 
boys  will  be  called  upon  by  the  authorities  to 
move  your  bones  also. 

" '  Tell  the  boys,  when  that  time  comes,  to  reach 
into  your  coffin  again,  and  take  this  glittering 
jewel  out  from  the  grave. 

"  ^  Tell  the  oldest  to  put  it  on  and  wear  it,  and 
be  buried  with  it  too,  leaving  instructions  for 
its  re-resurrection  again. 

^'  ^And  so,  sir,  we'll  keep  this  diamond  glitter- 
ing among  the  generations  to  come.  It  shall 
be  buried  and  raised,  and  worn  and  buried  again, 
until  finally  it  shall  be  buried  for  the  last  time, 
away  off  in  some  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific, 
when  the  West  shall  have  been  found  and  set- 
tled in  full,  and  finally  perfected. 

" '  I  tell  you,  sir,  this  cry  for  room,  more  room, 
will  never  cease. 

^^ '  And  let  this  diamond  go  on  from  grave  to 
grave,  from  generation  to  generation,  gleaming 
and  flashing  forever  like  a  star,  in  the  shield  of 
one  who  shall  always  be  a  pioneer  in  the  van- 
guard of  progress  and  civilization. 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  153 

"He  stopped  his  speech,  and  iu  silence  we 
walked  to  the  trading-post.  But  there  was  an  ele- 
ment of  prophecy  in  that  summer  morning  talk 
of  Colonel  Sarpy,  which  makes  it  ring  in  my 
ears  and  thrill  in  my  veins  even  unto  this  day. 
He  looked  into  the  future  as  into  a  mirror,  and 
saw  the  face  of  to-day  and  to-morrow  as  clearly 
and  plainly  as  a  child  sees  trees  and  flowers 
shadowed  in  a  pure  brook.^' 

In  the  grave-yard,  near  where  Colonel  Sarpy 
stood  when  the  above  remarkaLie  speech  was 
made,  sleep  the  remains  of  our  first-born  child. 

When  Colonel  Sarpy  uttered  this  prophecy, 
Omaha  was  a  little  village  with  only  a  few  houses. 
Lincoln  was  an  untrodden  prairie,  save  by  the 
Indians,  the  buffalo,  and  the  wild  beasts  that 
roamed  the  plains.  But  Omaha  has  become  a 
mighty  city,  stretching  away  to  the  north,  the 
west,  and  the  south,  and  the  cry  has  been  heard 
for  years,  "More  room.''  Lincoln,  the  magic  city 
of  the  plains,  in  the  heart  of  the  "  Great  Ameri- 
can Desert,''  has  arisen,  and  grown,  and  to-day 
has  a  teeming  population  of  near  sixty  thousand 
souls.  Addition  after  addition  has  been  made, 
and  still  the  cry  rings  out  over  the  prairies  from 
her  authorities,  "  More  room." 

The  "Great  American  Desert,"  where  is  it? 
Echo  answers,  Where?  Driven  from  the  plains 
of  Nebraska  to  the  western  slopes  of  the  Rocky 


154  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

MoimtaiDS,  then  on  toward  the  setting  sun,  the 
'^  Great  American  Desert "  ^'  has  become  a  vaga- 
bond on  the  face  of  the  earth/' 

When  we  reached  Bellevue,  we  found  no 
church  or  organization.  The  outlook  was  not 
encouraging  by  any  means,  but  gloomy  in  the 
extreme.  A  class  had  been  organized,  but  had 
gone  down.  The  acts  of  some,  we  learned,  had 
not  been  in  harmony  with  their  profession. 
Methodism  had  no  standing  in  the  community, 
and  the  people  looked  at  us  with  curious  eyes. 
To  get  hold  of  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  give 
Methodism  a  respectable  standing  required  time, 
patience,  and  labor.  The  foundation  of  the 
church  had  to  be  laid,  and  the  superstructure 
reared,  and  we  were  there  for  that  purpose  ;  so  we 
went  to  work  with  a  will,  though  discouragements 
met  us  at  every  step,  and  in  almost  every   form. 

We  had  been  on  the  ground  only  a  short 
time,  when  Mrs.  Davis  was  taken  ill  and  remained 
so  for  several  weeks.  For  a  long  time  we  had 
but  little  hope  of  her  recovery.  The  people 
were  very  kind,  and  rendered  every  possible  as- 
sistance ;  night  and  day  they  stood  by  us  in  the 
dark  hours  of  our  trial.  We  shall  never  forget 
them.  The  remembrance  of  their  kindness  and 
many  tokens  of  love,  is  indelibly  written  upon 
our  memories,  and  will  never  be  erased. 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  155 

The  summer  of  1858  was  a  very  sickly  one. 
Nearly  everybody  iu  the  community  was  pros- 
trated. To  hire  help  was  an  impossibility,  and 
we  had  to  do  all  our  own  work,  save  what  was 
done  by  our  kind  neighbors.  I  kept  house, 
cooked,  washed  and  ironed,  waited  on  Mrs.  Davis, 
prepared  for  the  pulpit,  and  preached  on  the 
Sabbath.  It  was  a  new  experience — a  bitter  but 
useful  one.  I  shall  never  "forget  the  first  trip  I 
made  to  Fairview.  I  was  told  it  was  a  town 
eight  miles  west  of  Bellevue.  I  sent  out  an  ap- 
pointment, and  on  Sunday  morning  started  on 
horseback.  We  had  been  told  it  was  beautifully 
located  on  an  elevation,  overlooking  the  whole 
surrounding  country.  I  rode  on  until  I  thought 
I  must  be  getting  near,  and  began  to  look  for 
the  new  town.  I  strained  my  eager  eyes  in  vafn 
to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  expected  beautiful  village. 
On  and  on  I  urged  my  horse,  thinking  every 
moment  that  the  village  would  rise  in  view.  At 
length,  away  to  the  right  of  the  road,  I  saw  a 
little  shanty.  I  reined  up  my  horse,  rode  out 
toward  the  shanty,  but  before  reaching  it  was 
met  by  the  man  of  the  house.  I  said  to  him  : 
"  Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  tell  me  the  way  to 
Fairview  ?" 

"O,  yes,''  said  he.  "Which  way  did  you 
come?'' 


156  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  QLAD. 

"From  Bellevue.^' 

"You  came  the  main  traveled  road  from  the 
east,  I  suppose  V^ 

"  Yes,  sir.^' 

"  Well,  sir,  you  passed  through  Fairview  two 
miles  east  of  this.'' 

"How  is  that?"  said  I;  "I  have  not  seen  a 
house  for  miles  until  I  saw  yours." 

"  O,"  said  the  gentleman,  "  there  are  no  houses 
in  Fairview  yet.  It  was  only  laid  out  a  few 
months  ago." 

I  told  him  that  I  had  sent  out  an  appoint- 
ment to  preach  there  that  day. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "I  think  I  heard  there  was 
to  be  a  meeting  there  to-day,  and  I  guess  some  of 
the  neighbors  have  gone  there  for  that  purpose. 
If  you  will  go  back  two  miles  and  look  very 
carefully  in  the  grass,  you  will  see  some  white 
stakes ;  then  if  you  will  look  to  the  south,  you 
will  see.  at  the  head  of  a  little  ravine,  a  log  cabin 
with  some  trees  near  by.  Robert  Lang  lives 
there,  and  I  expect  the  meeting  is  to  be  at  his 
house."  I  rode  back,  found  the  stakes,  saw  the 
log  cabin,  and  on  reaching  it  found  a  number  of 
persons  waiting  for  the  preacher.  In  a  little 
grove  near  by  I  preached  my  first  sermon  in  Ne- 
braska to  about  a  dozen  hearers.  I  took  dinner 
with  Brother  Lang,  a  jolly,  whole-souled,  deeply 
pious  Scotchman,     Some  years  after  this  Brother 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  157 

Lang  entered  the  evangelistic  work,  and  has  been 
instrumental,  in  the  hands  of  God,  in  leading 
hundreds  of  souls  to  Christ.  He  has  been  a 
faithful  worker  in  Christ^s  vineyard,  and  will  have 
many  stars  in  his  crown  of  rejoicing. 

After  dinner  I  rode  twelve  miles  to  Plattford, 
where  I  had  sent  out  an  appointment  for  evening 
service.  Here  I  expected,  from  what  had  been 
told  me,  to  find  a  good  town,  a  good  society  of 
Methodists,  and  a  large  congregation.  But,  alas! 
I  was  again  doomed  to  disappointment.  I  found 
no  town,  no  members  of  our  Church,  no  congre- 
gation. Plattford,  like  Fairview,  was  only  a 
paper  town,  and  its  location  was  marked  alone  by 
a  few  stakes  seen  here  and  there  in  the  grass. 
Just  at  dark  I  rode  up  to  a  small  house,  some 
distance  north  of  the  town  site,  where  I  was 
hospitably  entertained  by  a  kind  family  belong- 
ing to  the  Congregational  Church. 

This  was  my  first  Sabbath's  work  in  our  new 
field  of  labor,  on  the  frontier,  in  the  territory 
of  Nebraska.  It  was  anything  but  pleasant,  and 
the  future  outlook  was  not  a  very  flattering  one. 

In  1856-7  the  wildest  excitement  prevailed. 
Speculation  was  rife.  New  towns  were  spread 
upon  all  the  county  records.  Town  companies 
were  formed,  towns  laid  out,  and  agents  sent  East 
to  sell  the  lots.  Many  innocent  and  unsuspecting 
parties    were    taken    in    by    these    unscrupulous 


158  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

agents.  It  is  said  that  the  recorder  of  one  of  the 
northern  counties  laid  out  a  town,  then  went  East 
and  sold  lots  at  fabulous  prices.  In  addition  to 
the  money  received  from  them,  he  made  large  sums 
for  recording  the  deeds  of  these  worthless  lots. 
Soon  after  reaching  Bellevue  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  Methodist  minister  in  Ohio,  asking  for  a 
description  and  the  location  of  the  town  of 
Platonia.  He  had  sent  three  hundred  dollars, 
the  little  savings  of  years,  to  a  friend,  who  had 
purchased  for  him  several  lots  in  this  new  town. 
He  had  written  again  and  again,  but  could  hear 
nothing  from  his  old  friend.  I  began  to  make 
inquiry  about  the  new  town,  and  finally  met  a 
man  who  told  me  where  it  was  located.  A  few 
days  afterwards  I  went  down  and  took  in  the 
new  village.  I  found  a  half-finished,  dilapidated 
frame  building,  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  large 
field  of  corn.  The  town,  to  this  day,  is  used  as  a 
farm  for  raising  corn  and  hogs.  Many  profess- 
ing Christians  were  carried  away  by  the  mighty 
tide  of  speculation  that  swept  over  the  country. 
It  was  not  strange,  when  professing  Christians 
engaged  in  such  dishonorable  transactions,  that 
the  Church  should  fall  into  disrepute  and  lose 
its  power  for  good.  When  we  learned  the  his- 
tory of  the  past,  we  were  not  at  all  disposed  to 
censure  any  for  scanning  us  with  curious  and 
suspicious  eyes. 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  159 

The  prospect  for  a  support  from  the  people  was 
not  very  flattering.  An  appropriation  of  one 
hundred  dollars  from  the  Missionary  Society  had 
been  made  to  the  mission.  Our  house-rent  was 
at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  dollars  per  year. 
This  would  take  all  our  missionary  money,  and 
we  must  depend  on  the  people  for  a  living.  We 
had  no  assurance  whatever  that  the  people  would 
pay  us  any  thing.  In  fact,  the  intimations  were 
that  the  people  had  all  they  could  possibly  do  to 
provide  for  themselves. 

After  we  had  been  there  a  few  weeks,  a  good 
Baptist  brother  by  the  name  of  Simpkins  brought 
us  a  few  new  potatoes  and  some  green  pump- 
kins. Mrs.  Davis  thanked  him  very  kindly  for 
the  potatoes  and  green  pumpkins.  The  next  time 
he  came  he  brought  a  splendid  lot  of  vegetables 
of  all  kinds,  then  kept  us  in  vegetables  during 
the  season,  and  in  the  fall  filled  our  cellar  for  the 
winter.  He  afterwards  often  laughed  and  said : 
"  I  first  tried  you  with  green  pumpkins,  for  I 
thought  if  you  were  thankful  for  green  pumpkins 
you  would  do  for  Nebraska."  Brother  Simpkins 
and  family  afterwards  became  useful  and  faithful 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Soon  after  Mrs.  Davis  began  to  recover  from 
her  long  illness,  her  appetite  became  ravenous, 
while  my  own  was  not  a  whit  behind  hers.  It 
seemed  almost  impossible  for  us  to  get  enough  to 


160         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

eat.  We  were  ready  to  devour  everything  we 
could  get  in  the  way  of  edibles,  and  almost  every- 
thing was  palatable.  We  had  a  wonderful  relish 
for  food.  We  began  to  get  into  straitened  cir- 
cumstances. Our  money  was  almost  gone,  and 
our  larder  about  empty.  All  we  had  left  was  a 
little  bread,  potatoes,  and  salt.  We  sat  down 
one  morning  to  our  meager  breakfast — bread, 
potatoes,  and  salt.  After  the  blessing  was  asked  my 
wife  said  :  ^'  Well,  I  am  thankful  for  potatoes  and 
salt."  No  queen  in  her  palace,  with  a  table  be- 
fore her  groaning  with  the  richest  and  most  de- 
licious viands,  ever  breakfasted  Avith  a  greater 
relish  or  more  thankful  heart  than  ours  as  we 
ate  our  humble  meal  that  morning. 

God  gave  us  access  to  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
They  rallied  around  us.  In  many  ways  they  con- 
vinced us  they  were  our  friends  indeed.  At  the 
end  of  three  months  a  brother  offered  us  a  house 
free  of  rent  if  we  would  move,  and  we  accepted 
his  kindly  offer.  The  rooms  were  on  the  second 
floor  of  a  two-story  building;  the  lower  room  had 
been  used  as  a  store,  but  was  empty.  Not  long 
after  moving  into  our  new  quarters  we  had  our 
first  blizzard.  The  day  before  was  beautiful. 
The  sun  was  bright,  the  sky  clear,  the  atmosphere 
soft  and  balmy.  It  was  almost  like  a  summer 
day.  Mrs.  Davis  washed  and  hung  out  her 
clothes,  and  as  there  was  no  indication  whatever 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  161 

of  a  storm,  she  left  them  on  the  line.  We  re- 
tired to  rest ;  the  soft  wind,  like  a  gentle 
zephyr,  blowing  from  the  south.  About  ten 
o'clock  the  wind  shifted  to  the  north.  It  began 
to  snow,  and  the  wind  blew  a  perfect  gale.  The 
building  rocked  like  a  cradle,  and  we  thought  it 
certainly  would  go  to  pieces.  In  the  morning 
the  weather  was  freezing  cold,  and  the  snow  was 
piled  in  drifts  many  feet  high  around  the  house. 
We  looked  out  and  saw  the  line,  but  no  clothes, 
save  one  or  two  pieces.  We  tried  to  find  them, 
but  in  vain.  They  were  gone.  Not  a  shred  was 
left.  And  we  never  saw  or  heard  of  them  again. 
Our  neighbors,  who  were  acquainted  with  Ne- 
braska blizzards,  said  :  "  Your  clothes  Were  in' 
Kansas  long  before  morning."  Our  wardrobe 
was  not  the  most  extensive,  and  we  felt  keenly 
the  loss. 

Some  two  months  before  Conference  our  land- 
lord told  us  he  wanted  to  repair  the  house,  and 
we  must  move.  We  were  arranging  to  move  into 
another  building  when  Mrs.  Rogers,  a  neighbor, 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  one  of 
the  best  friends  we  ever  had,  heard  of  it.  She 
came  at  once  to  see  us,  and  said  :  "  You  are  not 
going  to  move  into  another  building,  but  you  are 
coming  to  our  house.  Mr.  Rogers  and  I  have 
talked  over  the  matter,  and  you  are  to  take  our 
front  parlor  and  bedroom. '^  We  told  her  that 
14 


162   -       SOLITARY  PLAGES  MADE  GLAD. 

would  be  an  imposition,  and  we  did  not  feel  as 
though  we  could  take  advantage  of  her  good  na- 
ture in  that  way.  She  said:  '^No;  it  will  be  a 
pleasure,  not  an  imposition/'  So  we  had  to  yield 
to  her  kind  oifer,  and  she  and  her  noble  boys 
helped  us  move  into  their  nice  and  comfortable 
parlor  and  bedroom.  Here  we  remained  until 
Conference.  Mrs.  Rogers  never  had  anything 
nice  that  we  did  not  have  a  share.  Such  hosi^i- 
tality  we  have  never  seen  surpassed.  How  often 
we  have  prayed  for  God's  blessing  on  that  noble 
family  ! 

Our  first  work  in  Nebraska,  which  opened  so 
unpropitiously,  closed  under  bright  and  most 
'promising  circumstances. 

Just  before  leaving  for  Conference,  the  good 
people  made  us  a  donation  amounting  to  seventy 
dollars,  and  we  never  saw  people  enjoy  them- 
selves better  than  on  that  occasion. 


OMAHA.  163 


CHAPTER    XII. 

OMAHA. 

When  Founded — Indian  Tradition  of  the  Name — Amus- 
ing AND  Thrilling  Incidents — George  Francis 
Train — Moving  in  an  Ox-vvagon— Indians— Fiijst 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church — Ride  on  Horseback 
Two  Hundred  Miles  to  Conference — Falls  City 
IN  ]860 — John  Brown — The  Conference  divided. 

OMAHA  was  founded  in  1854.  The  first 
dwelling-house  in  the  city  was  erected  by- 
Mr.  A.  D.  Jones,  who,  in  the  spring  of  1854,  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  postmaster,  and  im- 
mediately erected  a  cabin  of  logs,  which  he  com- 
pleted in  the  latter  part  of  May,  only  a  few  days 
before  Congress  passed  the  bill  creating  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Nebraska.  On  this  rude  cabin  a  sign 
was  placed,  consisting  of  a  wide  shingle  with  the 
words,  written  with  a  lead-pencil,  "Post-office, 
by  A.  D.  Jones.^'  The  style  of  this  quaint  sign 
attracted  as  much  attention  as  the  information  it 
communicated.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
present  marvelous  city  of  Omaha,  a  city  whose 
fame  is  world-wide. 

For  some  time  Mr.  Jones  carried  the  mail  in 
his  hat.     The  first  letter  ever  received  in  Omaha 


164  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

by  mail  was  from  Mr.  Henn  to  Mr.  Jones  felat- 
ing  to  an  independent  mail-route  between  Coun- 
cil Bluifs  and  Omaha.  This  letter  was  dated 
Washington,  May  6,  1854.  During  my  pastorate 
in  the  city  in  1859-60,  Mr.  Jones  and  his  family 
were  regular  attendants  at  our  Church,  his  wife 
being  a  member. 

The  name  Omaha  was  derived  from  an  Indian 
tradition.  The  tradition  is,  that  ages  ago  two 
tribes  met  on  the  Missouri  River  and  engaged  in 
a  bloody  battle,  in  which  all  on  (Tne  side  were 
killed  but  one,  who  was  thrown  into  the  river. 
Rising  suddenly  above  the  surface  he  exclaimed, 
"  Omaha  !'^  meaning  that  he  was  on  top  of  the 
water,  and  not  under  it  as  his  enemies  supposed, 
and  those  who  heard  it  took  that  word  as  the 
name  of  their  tribe.  "Omaha,"  "On  top.''  A 
significant  name,  not  only  of  the  renowned  Indian 
tribe,  but  the  city  as  well. 

Mr.  Jones,  who  was  a  surveyor,  was  employed 
by  the  Council  BluiFs  and  Nebraska  Steam-ferry 
Company  to  survey  the  site,  and  he  spent  the 
greater  part  of  the  month  of  June  and  a  part  of 
July  in  this  work.  The  city  was  laid  out  in  322 
blocks,  each  264  feet  square.  This  was  the  orig- 
inal city  of  Omaha,  as  first  founded,  and  the 
founders  had  but  little,  if  any,  idea  at  all  that  an 
addition  to  the  original  plat  would  ever  be  needed. 

In   the    Omaha  Illustrated   we   are   told  that 


OMAHA.  165 

Omaha  had  a  newspaper  very  early  in  her  history. 
This  paper  was  called  the  Ari'ow.  There  were 
ou\y  twelve  issues  of  the  Arroiv,  covering  the 
period  from  July  28  to  November  10,  1854.  In 
the  first  issue  of  the  Arrow,  which  was  the  first 
newspaper  ever  published  in  Nebraska,  the  editor 
wrote  a  fanciful  sketch  containing  a  prediction  of 
Omaha's  future.  It  was  entitled  '^A  Night  in 
Our  Sanctum.''  It  was  such  a  remarkable  pre- 
diction, and  has  been  so  literally  fulfilled,  that  I 
give  a  large  portion  of  it  to  the  reader.  Here 
it  is: 

'^Last  night  we  slept  in  our  sanctum — the 
starry-decked  heaven  for  a  ceiling,  and  mother 
earth  for  a  flooring.  ...  To  dream-land  we 
went.  The  busy  hum  of  business  from  factories 
and  the  varied  branches  of  mechanism  from 
Omaha  reached  our  ears.  The  incessant  rattle  of 
innumerable  drays  over  the  paved  streets,  the 
steady  tramp  of  ten  thousand  of  an  animated,  en- 
terprising population,  the  hoarse  orders  fast  issued 
from  the  crowd  of  steamers  upon  the  levee  load- 
ing with  the  rich  products  of  the  State  of  Ne- 
braska, and  unloading  the  fruits,  spices,  and  pro- 
ducts of  other  climes  and  soils,  greeted  our  ears. 
Far  away  toward  the  setting  sun  came  telegraph 
dispatches  of  improvements,  progress,  and  moral 
advancement  upon  the  Pacific  Coast.  Cars,  full- 
freighted  Ivith  teas,  silks,  etc.,  were  arriving  from 


166         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

thence,  and  passing  across  the  stationary  channel 
of  the  Missouri  River  with  lightning  speed,  hur- 
rying on  to  the  Atlantic  sea-board.  The  third 
express  train  on  the  Council  Bluffs  and  Galveston 
Railroad  came  thundering  close  by  us  with  a 
shrill  whistle  that  brought  us  to  our  feet,  knife 
in  hand,  looking  into  the  darkness  beyond  at  the 
flying  trains.  They  had  vanished.  The  hum  ot 
business,  in  and  around  the  city,  had  also  van- 
ished, and  the  same  rude  camp-fires  were  before 
us.  We  slept  again,  and  daylight  stole  upon  us, 
refreshed  and  ready  for  another  day^s  labor.'^ 

That  dream,  written  thirty-six  years  ago,  and 
which  was  considered  at  the  dme  visionary  in  the 
extreme,  and  which  no  one  ever  expected  to  see 
fulfilled,  has  been  more  than  realized.  Had  that 
dream  been  told  us  when  we  first  visited  Omaha 
in  1858,  we  should  have  said,  "It  is  the  dream 
of  a  madman.'' 

The  city  grew  rapidly  from  the  time  it  was 
laid  out,  flourishing  on  all  lines  until  the  panic 
of  1857  struck  the  country.  Then  Omaha  came 
to  a  dead  halt,  and  no  advance  whatever  w^as 
made  for  several  years.  In  1860  a  slight  change 
for  the  better  was  manifested.  In  1862  Congress 
passed  the  act  authorizing  the  construction  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  from  the  Missouri  River 
to  San  Francisco,  and  in  1863  President  Lincoln 
designated  its  eastern  terminal  "  at  a  point  on  the 


OMAHA.  167 

western  boundary  of  Iowa,  opposite  section  ten, 
in  township  fifteen,  north  of  range  thirteen,  east 
of  the  sixth  principal  meridian  in  the  Territory 
of  Nebraska." 

This  decision  gave  to  Omaha  a  new  and  won- 
derful impetus,  and  soon  after  Omaha  became  the 
metropolitan  city  of  the  West. 

Some  amusing  incidents  occurred  in  the  early 
history  of  the  city.  Omaha  was  the  capital  of  the 
Territory.  Mark  W.  Izard,  afterwards  appointed 
successor  to  Governor  Burt,  was  United  States 
marshal.  It  is  recorded  that  "  Izard  was  a  stately 
character  physically,  though  mentally  rather  weak, 
and  felt  a  lively  sense  of  the  dignity  with  which 
the  appointment  clothed  him.  He  had  never 
known  such  an  honor  before,  and  it  bore  upon 
him  heavily."  When  the  time  came  for  him  to 
deliver  his  inaugural  message,  he  arranged  for  a 
Negro  to  announce  his  approach  to  the  legislative 
chamber  in  the  following  words :  "  Mr.  Speaker, 
the  governor  is  now  approaching."  The  poor 
Negro  forgot  his  text,  and  electrified  the  assembled 
wisdom  with  the  sentence,  "Mr.  Speaker,  de 
gubner  has  done  come." 

In  1865,  George  Francis  Train  made  large  in- 
vestments in  Omaha  property,  and  took  a -lively 
interest  in  building  up  the  new  city.  He  was  a 
guest  of  the  Herndon  House.  One  day  he  sat  at 
the  table  in  the  dining-room,  opposite  a  broken 


168        SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

window,  through  which  the  wind  was  blowing  at 
a  lively  rate.  He  complained  of  the  annoyance, 
but  no  attention  was  paid  to  his  complaints.  Then 
he  paid  a  darky  ten  cents  a  minute  to  stand 
between  him  and  the  draught  until  he  had  finished 
his  dinner.  He  there  vowed  he  would  build 
another  hotel,  and  that  very  afternoon  purchased 
two  lots  and  employed  men  to  commence  the 
foundation.  Within  sixty  days  he  had  the  Coz- 
zens  House  completed  at  a  cost  of  $40,000.  Mr. 
Train  was  an  anomaly.  George  D.  Prentice  thus 
describes  him:  "A  locomotive  that  has  run  off 
the  track,  turned  upside  down,  with  its  cow-catcher 
buried  in  a  stump,  and  the  Avheels  making  a 
thousand  revolutions  a  minute  ;  a  kite  in  the  air, 
which  has  lost  its  tail ;  a  human  novel  without  a 
hero ;  a  man  who  climbs  a  tree  for  a  bird^s-nest 
out  on  a  limb,  and,  in  order  to  get  it,  saws  the 
limb  off  between  himself  and  the  tree ;  a  ship 
without  a  rudder;  a  sermon  without  a  text; 
handsome,  vivacious,  versatile,  muscular,  as  neat 
as  a  cat,  clean  to  the  marrow,  frugal  in  food,  and 
regular  only  in  habits ;  with  the  brains  of  twenty 
men  in  his  head,  all  pulling  in  different  ways; 
not  bad  as  to  heart,  but  a  man  who  has  shaken 
hands  with  reverence.'* 

When  the  war  broke  out  in  1861,  Omaha  re- 
sponded to  the  call  of  Abraham  Lincoln  for 
troops.    Three  military  companies  were  organized 


OMAHA.  ,  169 

and  mustered  into  service.  Upon  the  departure 
of  the  troops,  a  lady,  full  of  patriotism,  donned 
soldier^s  attire  and  took  passage  as  one  of  the 
"  boys/'  Her  sex  was  undiscovered  during  the 
trip  to  St.  Joe ;  but  when  the  boat  left  that  city 
and  went  down  the  river,  the  adventure  terminated 
suddenly ;  for  she  was  discovered  by  her  husband 
and  sent  back  to  Omaha,  where,  at  a  recent  date, 
it  is  said,  she  was  still  living. 

Some  sad  as  well  as  amusing  incidents  occurred 
during  the  early  history  of  the  city. 

The  community  was  infested  with  thieves  and 
roughs  of  various  kinds.  Many  of  these  pests  of 
the  human  race,  averse  to  labor,  and  determined 
to  obtain  a  living  in  any  way  save  by  honest 
work,  fled  from  Eastern  States  to  the  frontier, 
where  they  could  have  a  better  opportunity  ot 
committing  their  depredations.  The  citizens  felt 
that  the  safety  of  themselves  and  their  families 
depended  on  their  visiting  summary  punishment 
upon  criminals;  and  when  guilt  was  proved  be- 
yond all  doubt,  they  often  took  the  law  into  their 
own  hands.  This  course  often  becomes  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  people  in  new  Ter- 
ritories and  States.  It  was  necessary  in  the  early 
history  of  California,  and  since  then  it  has  been 
necessary  in  other  new  Territories  as  well. 

At  a  still  earlier  period,  history  tells  us  that  in 
Ohio  and  Kentucky,  and    other   new    States,  the 


170         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

people  often  had  to  take  the  law  into  their  own 
hands.  It  has  often  become  necessary  for  the 
citizens  to  organize  what  is  known  as  Vigilance 
Committees.  These  are  not  mobs.  A  mob  is  a 
very  diiferent  thing  from  a  Vigilance  Committee. 
A  mob  is  a  riotous  assembly,  a  disorderly  crowd, 
composed  generally  of  the  vicious  and  lower 
classes  of  society  ;  and  the  acts  of  a  mob  are  com- 
mitted under  great  excitement,  and  without  any 
regard  to' law  or  justice.  A  Vigilance  Committee 
is  an  orderly  crowd,  with  an  eye  only  upon  the 
w^elfare  of  the  whole  community,  cool  and  deliber- 
ate in  all  its  actions.  A  Vigilance  Committee  in- 
flicts no  punishment  until  guilt  is  proved  beyond 
the  shadow  of  a  doubt.  A  mob  often  inflicts 
punishment  upon  the  innocent.  A  mob  is  a 
dangerous  element  in  society.  A  Vigilance  Com- 
mittee has  often  been  the  saving  of  the  com- 
munity. 

A  mob  entered  the  jail  in  Omaha  in  1859, 
took  two  men  from  the  prison,  and  hanged  them. 
The  circumstances  were  as  follows :  Two  men, 
named  John  Daily  and  Harvey  Braden,  were  con- 
fined in  the  jail  at  Omaha  for  horse-stealing.  On 
Saturday  night,  January  8,  1859,  a  party  of  men  en- 
tered the  jail.  The  sheriff  was  absent,  and  the  keys 
were  in  charge  of  three  women.  From  these  the 
mob  took  the  keys  by  force,  entered  the  cell,  took 
the  prisoners  to  a  point  two  miles  north  of  Flor- 


OMAHA.  171 

ence,  and  there  hanged 'them.  A  jury  was  im- 
paneled, and  after  an  examination  which  lasted 
several  days,  returned  a  verdict  in  accordance 
with' the  facts,  finding  four  men,  whose  names 
we  withhold,  guilty  of  aiding  and  abetting  the 
murder.  These  four  men  were  granted  a  change 
of  venue,  and  were  tried  at  Bellevue,  and  we 
were  present  and  witnessed  the  trial.  The  evi- 
dence of  their  guilt  was  very  strong.  The  im- 
pression of  those  who  heard  the  testimony  was 
that  the  prisoners  were  guilty.  They  were,  how- 
ever, acquitted.  We  learned  afterwards  that  the 
affair  ruined  each  of  the  four  men  both  mentally 
and  physically.  Although  they  had  previously 
been  prosperous,  after  the  trial  they  met  with  re- 
verses from  which  they  never  recovered.  The 
judgments  of  Almighty  God  follow  the  mur- 
derer, and  from  them  it  is  vain  for  him  to  try 
to  escape. 

During  the  six  years  of  territorial  organiza- 
tion no  murderer  had  met  the  punishment  due 
his  crime.  Robbery  and  assassination  triumphed 
over  industry  and  virtue.  The  citizens  became 
incensed  at  the  slow  and  unjust  process  of  the 
courts.  A  Vigilance  Committee  was  organized, 
and  at  the  hands  of  this  committee  many  outlaws 
met  their  fate. 

In  March,  1861,  two  young  men.  Her  and 
Bovey  by  name,  at  the  hour  of  midnight,  entered 


172  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

the  house  of  Mr.  George*  Taylor,  living  ten  miles 
west  of  the  city.  Mr.  Taylor  was  absent.  His 
wife  was  'alone.  The  desperadoes  demanded  of 
Mrs.  Taylor  her  money.  And  as  it  was  death  or 
the  money,  and  loving  life  more  than  her  money, 
she  turned  over  to  them  all  she  had,  and  they  left 
with  one  thousand  dollars  in  cash.  A  few  days 
afterwards  the  two  men  were  arrested.  Mrs. 
Taylor  was  sent  for,  and  identified  them.  They 
were  lodged  in  the  county  jail.  The  most  in- 
tense excitement  prevailed  among  the  citizens. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  inquire  into  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  the  prisoners.  The  com- 
mittee held  a  long  interview  with  them,  and  they 
finally  made  a  full  confession  of  their  guilt.  The 
committee  reported  accordingly,  and  recommended 
that  the  life  of  Her  be  spared.  During  the  next 
two    days    further  confessions   were    made. 

On  Saturday  morning,  March  9,  1861,  Bovey 
was  found  hanged  at  the  door  of  his  cell,  his  body 
dead  and  cold.  The  news  reached  us  just  after 
breakfast.  I  immediately  left  the  parsonage,  and 
walked  slowly  to  the  jail.  A  stream  of  men  and 
women,  too,  were  going  to  and  from  the  tragic 
scene.  Gloom  Avas  on  every  face,  and  tears  in 
many  eyes.  The  conversation  was  in  low  and 
whispered  tones.  I  entered  the  prison,  and  saw 
the  body  of  the  unfortunate  man  lying  on  a 
board.     The  blood  had  settled  about  the  thick- 


OMAHA.  173 

ness  of  an  inch,  and  left  a  black  circle  around  the 
neck  where  the  rope  had  been  fastened.  Such  a 
necklace  I  had  never  seen  before.  The  sight  was 
frightful,  and  I  turned  instinctively  away  from 
the  ghastly  scene.  Death  under  such  circum- 
stances is  appalling  beyond  all  description.  For 
days  the  whole  community  was  shrouded  in 
gloom.  The  body  was  left  for  several  hours 
where  all  could  see  it — a  warning  to  all  criminals. 

The  first  sermon  ever  preached  in  the  region 
of  Omaha  was  in  1851.  This  was  three  years  be- 
fore the  city  was  founded.  In  1851,  William 
Simpson  was  sent  to  Council  Bluffs  Mission  from 
the  Iowa  Conference.  He  learned  that  there 
were  a  few  settlers  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mis- 
souri River.  In  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  with  the  in- 
stinct so  characteristic  of  every  true  Methodist 
minister,  he  crossed  the  river,  called  the  handful 
of  immigrants  together,  and  at  the  base  of  the 
abrupt  hills  where  the  city  of  Omaha  now  stands, 
he  gave  to  these  pioneers  the  bread  of  life.  This 
was  supposed  to  be  the  first  Methodist  sermon 
ever  preached  on  Nebraska  soil. 

The  first  sermon  preached  in  Omaha  after 
the  city  was  founded,  was  by  the  Rev.  Peter 
Cooper.  In  the  Arrow,  published  in  August, 
1854,  the  announcement  was  made  that  Rev. 
Peter   Cooper  would   preach  on  Sunday,  August 


174  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

13th,  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  William  P.  Snow- 
den.  Mr.  Cooper  was  an  Englishman,  and  came 
to  the  village  of  Omaha  when  it  contained  less 
than  one  hundred  inhabitants.  He  opened  a 
stone-quarry  on  the  bank  of  the  Missouri  River, 
just  below  the  present  bridge  of  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad.  He  was  a  local  preacher  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  When  it  was  dis- 
covered that  he  sometimes  preached,  he  was 
invited  to  address  the  people  of  the  village,  and 
accordingly  delivered  the  first  sermon  ever 
preached  in  Omaha.  The  congregation  numbered 
about  fifteen,  there  being  present,  among  others, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  Davis,  Mr.  A.  J.  Pop- 
pleton,  and  Mr.  A.  D.  Jones. 

In  the  spring  of  1855,  Rev.  Isaac  F.  Collins 
was  sent  as  a  missionary  to  Omaha,  and  organ- 
ized a  class  of  six  members.  On  the  12th  of 
September,  Rev.  William  H.  Goode  held  the  first 
quarterly  meeting  ever  held  in  the  city.  The 
following  persons  Avere  present  and  partook  of 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  on  that  first 
sacramental  occasion :  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Amsbury, 
the  parents  of  Rev.  W.  A.  Amsbury,  now  pre- 
siding elder  in  the  West  Nebraska  Conference; 
Mr  and  Mrs.  Collins,  Mrs.  Crowell,  Mrs.  George 
A.  McCoy,  and  Mrs.  Harris.  It  is  related  of 
Mrs.  Harris  that  she  reached  Omaha  from  Iowa 
City,  traveling  on  foot   until  she   gave   out  and 


OMAHA.  175 

could  walk  no  further,  then  riding  the  rest 
of  the  way  upon  a  cow,  the  only  beast  of 
burden  which  she  possessed.  These  were  the 
days  of  small  things,  but  they  were  not  despised. 
That  little  handful  of  devoted  Christians  have 
become  "  a  thousand  times  so  many  as  they  were.'' 

In  December,  1856,  the  first  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  was  dedicated,  the  Rev.  Moses  F. 
Shinn  officiating.  Rev.  J.  M.  Chivington  suc- 
ceeded Isaac  Collins  as  pastor  at  Omaha;  Rev. 
J.  W.  Taylor  succeeded  J.  M.  Chivington,  Rev. 
William  M.  Smith  succeeded  J.  W.  Taylor  and 
I  followed  Brother  Smith. 

The  fourth  session  of  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
Conference  met  in  Omaha  April  14,  1859.  The 
minutes  of  the  first  day's  proceedings  contain  the 
following  record :  "  The  transfers  of  Hugh  D. 
Fisher,  a  traveling  elder,  from  the  Pittsburg  Confer- 
ence, and  H.  T.  Davis,  a  traveling  deacon  from  the 
Northwest  Indiana  Conference  were  announced, 
and  they  were  introduced  to  the  Conference." 

We  received  a  royal  welcome  from  this  hardy 
band  of  pioneer  Methodist  preachers,  and  at  once 
felt  at  home  among  them.  At  this  Conference  I 
was  ordained  elder  by  the  venerable  Bishop  Scott, 
and  was  ajjpointed  to  Omaha  City  Station.  We 
had  supplied  Bellevue  the  nine  months  preceding 
the  Conference,  and  had,  under  God,  made  many 
warm  friends.      They   confidently   expected   our 


176  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

return.  When  we  returned  from  the  Conference 
and  the  people  learned  that  we  had  been  appointed 
to  Omaha,  they  manifested  the  deepest  sorrow  and 
the  bitterest  regrets.  We  were  very  glad  they 
were  sorry.  It  was  a  real  comfort  to  us.  We 
would  not  for  the  world,  hardly,  have  had  them 
feel  otherwise.  No  minister  wants  the  people  to 
feel  glad  when  he  is  gone. 

Believing  that  a  farm  would  not  be  a  bad 
thing  for  a  preacher  to  have  when  old  and  no 
longer  able  to  preach,  we  availed  ourselves  of  the 
privilege  of  the  pre-emption  law,  took  a  claim, 
built  a  small  house,  moved  in,  and  lived  there 
the  time  prescribed  by  law ;  then  "  proved  up,^' 
and  I  received  a  title  to  our  land  from  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

From  our  claim,  eight  miles  west  of  Bellevue, 
we  moved  to  our  new  appointment.  We  could 
not  go  by  raihx)ad  or  steamboat.  We  were  be- 
yond the  reach  of  these.  The  whistle  of  the  loco- 
motive had  never  been  heard  in  Nebraska,  and 
only  those  living  along  the  Missouri  River  had 
the  benefit  of  steam  navigation. 

To  obtain  a  carriage  in  which  to  ride  was  out 
of  the  question.  We  tried  to  hire  a  span  of  horses 
and  wagon  in  Avhich  to  move,  but  in  vain.  So 
we  had  to  do  the  next  best  thing,  take  what  we 
could  get — an  ox-team.  In  the  wagon  we  loaded 
our   goods,  and   about   the   twenty-fifth   day   of 


OMAHA.  177 

April  the  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Omaha,  and  his  wife,  might  have  been 
seen  riding  behind  a  yoke  of  oxen  up  Farnham 
Street  and   down  Seventeenth  to  the  parsonage. 

At  that  day  Omaha  was  five  years  old,  and  had 
a  population  of  about  two  thousand  souls. 

The  Indians  were  then  very  numerous  in  Ne- 
braska. They  frequently  passed  through  the  city, 
and  hardly  a  day  went  by  but  what  we  met  some 
of  them.  Often  the  window  would  suddenly 
darken,  and  Mrs.  Davis  would  look  up  and  see 
from  one  to  a  half  dozen  "red-skins'^  staring  at 
her  through  the  window.  At  first  the  sight  would 
startle  her,  but  she  soon  became  accustomed  to  it, 
and  when  they  came  would  cry  out  to  them, 
"  Pucachee !  Pucachee  !" — "  Begone !  Begone !'' 
Sometimes  they  would  leave  at  once;  at  other 
.tiiiies  they  would  hang  around  for  a  time,  waiting 
for  a  present.  They  were  great  beggars,  and 
often  when  they  came  would  not  leave  until 
something  in  the  way  of  food  or  clothing  was 
given  them. 

At  that  time  we  had  a  small  brick  church, 
right  in  the  center  of  Omaha.  On  this  church 
there  was  a  debt  of  f  500.  The  panic  of  1857  had 
left  the  city  flat,  financially.  The  creditors 
wanted  their  money.  To  raise  it  from  the  people 
of  Omaha  was  an  impossibility.  The  Quarterly 
Conference  requested  the  pastor  to  go  East  and  try 


178  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

and  raise  the  amount  needed.  I  went  back  to  my 
old  Conference  in  Indiana,  and  in  a  few  weeks 
returned  with  money  enough  to  liquidate  the  debt. 
The  official  Board  was  happy,  and  the  whole 
Church  rejoiced.  The  Conference  year  closed 
under  favorable  auspices.  The  society,  though 
small,  was  in  a  healthy  condition,  and  was  entirely 
free  from  debt. 

The  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Conference  met 
that  year  —  March  16,  1860 — in  Leavenworth, 
Kansas.  There  were  no  railroads,  and  travel  on 
the  Missouri  River  at  that  season  of  the  year  was 
very  uncertain.  So  we  took  it  the  old-fashioned 
way,  and  went  on  horseback.  The  distance  we 
had  to  travel  in  order  to  reach  the  seat  of  the 
Conference  was  about  two  hundred  miles.  We 
were  one  week  going  and  one  week  returning, 
and  at  the  Conference  a  week,  being  absent  just 
three  weeks. 

On  our  way  down  we  stopped  over  night  at 
Falls  City,  near  the  Kansas  line.  This  city  was 
then  two  years  old,  and  had  about  a  dozen  houses. 
We  were  kindly  entertained  during  the  night  at 
the  residence  of  Brother  and  Sister  Miller.  After- 
Avards,  while  traveling  the  Nebraska  City  District, 
I  was  often  hospitably  entertained  by  this  kind 
family. 

During  the  Kansas  'troubles  Falls  City  was 
one  of  the  stations  of  the  "underground  railway '^ 


OMAHA.  179 

of  old  John  Brown.  The  mettle  of  which  the  old 
hero  was  made  was  shown  in  an  incident  which 
took  place  on  one  of  his  last  trips  from  Kansas 
with  his  ^'  dusky  train/^  Having  reached  this 
station  with  his  refugees,  he  was  overtaken  by  a 
band  of  South  Carolina  Rangers,  who  proposed  to 
carry  their  chattels  back  "to  the  galling  serfdom 
of  the  sunny  South/^  But  the  proud  Southerners 
had  mistaken  the  strength  of  their  foe.  Brown, 
with  his  men,  quietly  surrounded  them,  and  com- 
pelled them  by  superior  force  to  surrender;  then 
stepping  to  the  front,  he  gave  them  a  scathing  re- 
buke for  the  profanity  they  had  heaped  upon  the 
"  colored  folks.^^  He  ordered  the  rangers  to  kneel 
down.  They  obeyed,  and  repeated  after  him  the 
Lord's  Prayer.  Then,  taking  from  them  their 
horses  and  arms,  he  sent  them  back  on  foot  from 
whence  they  came,  while  he  and  his  freed  slaves 
proceeded  on  their  way  rejoicing. 

At  the  Leavenworth  Conference  a  resolution 
was  passed  requesting  the  General  Conference, 
which  met  the  following  May,  to  divide  the  Con- 
ference. That  request  was  acceded  to,  and  the 
Conference  w^as  divided  in  May,  1860.  The 
Kansas  Conference  included  the  Territory  of 
Kansas,  and  the  Nebraska  Conference  the  Terri- 
tory of  Nebraska. 

On  the  19th  of  March,  after  a  harmonious  sit- 
ting, the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Conference  closed 


180  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

its  fifth  session.  And  as  that  beautiful  and  touch- 
ing hymn  of  Charles  Wesley  rolled  up  from  a 
crowded  audience,  the  hearts  of  all  present  were 
filled  with  solemnity  and  deep  emotion — 

"  And  let  our  bodies  part — 
To  different  climes  repair." 

That  hymn  was  made  doubly  impressive  from 
the  fact  that  we  believed  the  General  Conference 
would  accede  to  our  wishes  and  divide  the  Con- 
ference, and  that  in  all  probability  we  would 
never  be  permitted  to  meet  many  of  our  brethren 
again  until  we  hailed  them  in  the  skies.  With 
anxiety  we  waited  to  hear  the  appointments  read. 

I  quote  the  following  from  a  letter  I  wrote  to 
the  Western  Christian  Advocate  at  the  close  of 
this  Conference: 

"Having  received  our  appointments,  we  took 
each  other  by  the  hand,  gave  the  parting  good- 
bye, and  hurried  away  to  our  respective  fields  of 
labor.  In  looking  over  the  history  of  the  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska  Conference  we  can  but  exclaim, 
^What  hath  God  wrought!'  The  little  handful 
who,  five  years  ago,  raised  the  standard  of  the 
cross  in  these  Territories,  has  swelled  to  a  mighty 
army.  And  to-day  is  heard  the  clarion  voice  of 
the  faithful  itinerant,  rousing  the  soldiers  of  Christ 
to  arms,  and  calling  for  volunteers  for  Jesus,  in 
almost  every  settlement  of  these  Territories,  and 
throughout  the  valleys  and  peaks  of  the  Rocky 


OMAHA.  181 

Mountains,  from  the  base  even  to  the  very  sum- 
mit/^ 

We  returned  to  Omaha.  Our  second  year 
was  a  pleasant  one,  even  more  so  than  the  first. 
During  the  winter  a  gracious  revival  took  place, 
and  some  fifty  souls  were  converted.  We  closed 
our  second  year  with  a  larger  membership,  and 
much  stronger  in  every  respect  than  when  we 
took  the  charge.  The  pastoral  limit  was  then 
only  two  years,  and  we  knew  the  bishop  would 
assign  us  to  a  new  field  of  labor. 


182         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE. 

Members— Statistics — "  Crowned  Ones  " — Martyr  Spirit 
Still  in  the  Church  —  Nebraska  City  District  in 
1861 — A  Fearful  Ride  in  the  Cold  —  Pop-gun 
Elder — S.  P.  Majors — Bellevue  Conference — Bishop 
Simpson — Crossing  the  Platte  in  a  Skiff — Laura 
Beatty  —  An  Awful  Tragedy  —  A  Death-bed  Re- 
pentance. 

THE  first  session  of  the  Nebraska  Annual  Con- 
ference was  held  in  Nebraska  City,  beginning 
April  4,  1861.  Bishop  Thomas  A.  Morris  pre- 
sided. 

The  following  persons  were  members  :^  Isaac 
Burns,  H.  Burch,  H.  T.  Davis,  J.  T.  Cannon, 
Wm.  M.  Smith,  J.  W.  Taylor,  Martin  Prichard, 
T.  Munhall,  Philo  Gorton,  Jerome  Spillman,  Z. 
B.  Turman,  and  J.  L.  Fort.  L.  W.  Smith  and 
David  Hart  were  admitted  into  full  connection, 
making  in  all  fourteen  members. 

The  following  are  the  statistics : 

Number  of  districts, 2 

Number  of  appointments, 21 

Number  of  members, 948 

We  have  seen  that  little  Conference  of  fourteen 
members   grow   into   three    Annual  Conferences, 


FIRST  NERRASKA  CONFERENCE.  183 

thirteen  districts,  three  hundred  and  fifty-four  ap- 
pointments, and  thirty-one  thousand  two  hundred 
and  twelve  members.  '^  The  little  handful  has 
become  a  thousand,  and  the  small  one  a  strong 
nation."  Of  the  fourteen  charter  members  of  the 
Nebraska  Conference,  four  have  "  ceased  to  work 
and  live." 

Of  the  "crowned  ones"  of  that  noble,  he- 
roic, and  God-honored  band,  the  first  was  Isaac 
Burns.  Brother  Burns  was  a  simple-minded,  con- 
scientious, sweet-spirited,  deeply  pious  man.  A 
very  common  remark  of  his  was,  "It  is  a 
nice  thing  to  be  a  Christian."  One  always 
felt  benefited  spiritually  by  being  in  his  com- 
pany. He  had  an  easy  Avay  of  giving  to  every 
one  a  spiritual  uplift.  Not  long  before  he  died, 
while  on  his  way  to  Conference  he  preached  a 
sermon  in  Nebraska  City  which  made  a  most  pro- 
found impression  on  all  who  heard  it.  His  text 
was  taken  from  the  73d  Psalm  and  24th  verse: 
"Thou  shalt  guide  me  with  thy  counsel,  and  aft- 
erward receive  me  to  glory."  He  began  by  say- 
ing: "  AVhatever  the  sermon  may  be,  one  thing 
is  certain,  I  have  the  prettiest  text  in  the  Bible." 
It  was  a  sermon  full  of  the  marrow  of  the  gos- 
j^el,  as  all  his  sermons  were.  The  fragrance  of 
that  one  sermon  has  come  down  through  the 
years,  and  its  rich  aroma  still  lingers  in  the 
hearts  of  some  who  heard  it. 


184         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Martin  Prichard  was  the  second  who  received 
an  honorable  discharge  from  the  Master.  On  the 
24th  of  March,  1877,  he  heard  the  welcome 
words,  '^  It  is  enough,  come  up  higher/^  Among 
those  who  took  a  most  active  part  in  laying  the 
foundations  of  our  Zion  in  the  eastern  part  |of  Ne- 
braska, was  Brother  Prichard.  In  Cass,  Otoe, 
Nemaha,  Richardson,  and  Pawnee  Counties,  as 
pastor,  and  as  presiding  elder  of  the  Lincoln  and 
Nebraska  City  Districts,  he  did  a  Avork  for  God 
and  the  Church,  the  grand  results  of  which  will 
only  be  known  in  the  great  day  of  eternity. 

Next  to  follow  was  David  Hart.  He  was 
an  Englishman  by  birth,  a  Methodist  through 
and  through,  consecrated  wholly  to  God ;  and  his 
death,  as  his  life  had  been,  was  a  triumph.  On 
the  14th  of  January,  1878,  in  Colorado,  where 
he  had  gone  for  his  health,  the  chariot  came 
from  the  skies  to  meet  him,  and  he  passed  tri^ 
umphantly  home. 

The  fourth  of  this  true  and  tried  band  was 
J.  T.  Cannon.  July  24,  1883,  Brother  Cannon, 
from  his  home  in  Cass  County,  went  up  to  join 
his  comrades  in  the  skies.  He  was  a  Methodist 
preacher  of  the  olden  type,  zealous,  devoted  and 
true.  Many  and  many  a  time  I  was  hospitably 
entertained  by  him  and  his  noble  wife,  at  their 
home  on  their  farm  in  Cass  County.  Their 
house  was  the  home  of  the   Methodist    itinerant. 


FIRST  NEBRASKA   CONFERENCE.  185 

The  gap  made  by  the  death  of  these  was  filled 
by  others  who  proved  themselves  just  as  true  as 
their  predecessors.  "  The -workmen  die,  but  the 
work  goes  on.^'  Many  of  these  have  fallen,  and 
they  in  turn  have   been  succeeded  by  others. 

Aside  from  the  charter  members  of  the  Con- 
ference, others,  who  joined  later,  have  also  been 
"crowned.^^  The  following  are  their  names: 
J.  J.  Roberts,  Thomas  Alexander,  D.  J.  Ward, 
T.  A.  Hull,  A.  J.  Combs,  W.  B.  Slaughter, 
C.  W.  Cxiddings,  A.  L.  Goss,  A.  G.  White,  H. 
W.  Warner,  Samuel  Wood,  W.  D.  Gage,  W.  E. 
Davis,  T.  S.  Goss,  S.  P.  Vandoozer,  William 
Peck,  and  Thomas  B.  Lemon.  Mr.  Wesley  said: 
"Our  people  die  well."  The  above  long  list 
from  the  roll  of  the  Nebraska  Conference  was  not 
an  exception.  These  brave  men  fell,  all  covered 
with  glory.  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  right- 
eous, and  let  my  last  end  be  like  theirs.''  They 
fell,  "  as  the  plumed  warrior  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle, with  the  ensigns  of  victory  waving  all  around 
him."     Noble  dead !     Peace  to  their  ashes. 

"  Servants  of  God,  well  done ! 
Your  glorious  warfare  's  past ; 
The  battle 's  fought,  the  race  is  won, 
And  ye  are  crowned  at  last." 

Of  the  ten  remaining  charter  members  of  the 

Nebraska  Conference,  two  have  fallen  away;  eight 

remain  to  till  the   Master's  vineyard.     Of  these 

16 


186  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

eiglit,  only  two  are  "  eifective/' — Hyram  Burch 
and  the  writer.  Brother  Burch  is  strong  and 
vigorous.  His  name  is  familiar  throughout  the 
State.  He  has  been  an  untiring  worker  for  God. 
Modest  and  retiring  in  disposition,  he  has  never 
pushed  himself  to  the  front.  When  the  final  day 
of  reckoning  comes,  and  every  man  shall  stand 
upon  his  own  merits,  Brother  Burch  will  occupy 
a  higher  position,  and  on  his  brow,  methinks, 
will  rest  a  brighter  crown,  than  those  of  some 
who  have  occupied  more  prominent  positions  in 
the  Church  militant. 

The  other  six,  J.  L.  Fort,  J.  W.  Taylor,  L.  W. 
Smith,  Z.  B.  Turman,  W.  M.  Smith,  and  P.  Gor- 
ton, are  on  the  superannuated  list,  and  work  as 
they  are  able.  Their  heads  are  silvered  with  the 
frosts  of  many  winters,  but  the  fire  of  youth 
burns  in  their  hearts.  They  have,  like  the  ven- 
erable patriarch  Abraham,  reached  "  a  good,  old 
age,  full  of  years,"  and  will  soon  be  "  gathered 
to  their  people." 

Three  were  admitted  on  trial  at  the  first  Ne- 
braska Conference,  and  four,  who  had  been  re- 
ceived on  trial  by  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Con- 
ference the  year  previous,  were  advanced  to  the 
second  class,  making  in  all  seven.  Among  the 
seven  probationers  of  that  memorable  little  con- 
ference was  Rev.  T.  B.  Lemon.  Dr.  Lemon's 
name  is  familiar  in  almost  every  household  of  the 


FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE.'        187 

State.  For  twenty-five  years  he  was  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  hosts  of  our  Zion  on  the  frontier. 
Every  position  that  he  was  called  to  fill  by  the 
Church,  whether  as  pastor,  presiding  elder,  super- 
intendent of  missions,  or  agent  of  a  great  uni- 
versity, was  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and 
honor  to  the  Church.  On  Wednesday,  February 
19, 1890,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-one,  at  his  home 
in  Omaha,  he  was  called  from  the  Church  militant 
to  the  Church  triumphant  in  heaven.  His  praise 
is  in  all  the  Churches. 

Of  those  seven  probationers,  three  only  re- 
main:  J.  W.  Ailing,  now  of  the  Rock  River  Con- 
ference ;  Wm.  A.  Amsbury  is  presiding  ^elder  in 
the  West  Nebraska  Conference,  and  is  doing  a 
grand  work  in  laying  deep  and  broad  the  founda- 
tions of  our  Church ;  and  Dr.  J.  B.  Maxfield  is 
presiding  elder  in  the  North  Nebraska  Confer- 
ence, and  is  establishing  our  Church  in  that  part 
of  the  State. 

We  need  not  go  back  to  the  earlier  history 
of  the  Church  to  find  heroes  and  heroines.  They 
are  in  the  Church  to-day.  The  days  of  self- 
sacrifice  for  the  Master's  cause  have  not  passed. 
The  martyr-spirit  is  still  in  the  Church. 

From  the  day  when  Christ  said  to  my  happy 
soul,  "  Thy  sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven," 
I  have  been  very  deeply  interested  in  the  cause 
of  missions.     I   read  years  ago,  with  delight,  of 


188        •SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

Cox,  and  Judson,  and  Morrison,  and,  later,  of 
Coan  at  Hawaii,  and  Taylor  in  India  and  Africa ; 
and  as  I  read  of  their  noble  deeds  and  daring, 
there  came  to  my  heart  a  thrill  of  inspiration. 
Often  since  then  have  I  been  inspired  anew  as 
I  have  read  of  the  missionaries  who  have  bid 
adieu  to  friends,  loved  ones,  and  their  native 
land,  and  have  gone  to  foreign  shores  to  pro- 
claim the  gospel  to  the  heatjien,  and  spend  the 
balance  of  their  lives  in  a  land  of  strangers.  All 
honor  to  these  brave  men  and  women !  A  rich 
reward  awaits  them  in  the  skies.  But  a  nobler 
band  of  heroes  and  heroines  never  graced  this 
planet  than  the  men  and  women  who  are  laying 
the  foundations  of  our  Church  on  the  frontier  in 
the  West.  Many  of  them  have  lived,  and  are 
to-day  living,  on  a  mere  pittance — hardly  enough 
to  keep  soul  and  body  together.  My  heart  has 
bled  a  thousand  times  for  these  noble  men  and 
their  heaven-honored  families.  No  brighter  gems 
will  flash  from  the  coronets  of  the  redeemed  than 
will  blaze  forever  from  the  crowns  of  many  who 
have  spent  their  lives  on  the  frontier,  laying  the 
foundations  of  the  Church.  All  hail,  blessed 
workmen  of  the  Master  ! 

The  following  statistics  tell  their  own  story : 
In  1861  the  average  amount  received  from  each 
preacher  in  the  Nebraska  Conference  was  $228. 
The   largest  salary   received    was   $495,  and  the 


FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE.  189 

smallest  $28.  Think  of  a  pastor  and  his  wife 
living  a  Avhole  year  on  a  salary  of  $28 !  In  1887 
there  were  seven  preachers  in  Nebraska  who  re- 
ceived an  average  of  only  $44.80  each  for  the 
year's  work.  On  this  small  stipend  these  brave 
men  stood  at  the  post  of  duty,  counting  not  their 
lives  dear  unto  themselves  for  the  Master's  cause. 
Talk  about  moral  heroes !  You  do  not  have  to 
go  to  the  annals  of  the  past,  nor  to  heathen 
shores  to  find  them.  They  are  here  right  among 
us,  in  the  bounds  of  our  own  Conferences.  These 
persons  are  making  a  record  for  eternity  of  which 
they  will  be  proud  when  the  world  is  on  fire. 

At  the  first  Nebraska  Conference  held  in  Ne- 
braska City,  beginning  April  4,  1861,  I  was  ap- 
pointed presiding  elder  of  the  Nebraska  City 
District.  My  district  comprised  all  the  territory 
south  of  the  Platte  River.  In  this  territory  is 
now  the  Nebraska  Conference,  and  part  of  the 
West  Nebraska  Conference. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  appointments: 

Omaha  District. 

"William  M.  Smith, Presiding  Elder. 

Omaha, To  be  supplied. 

Bellevue, Martin  Prichard. 

Elkhorn, J.  Ailing, 

Platte  Valley, T.  Hoagland. 

Calhoun, David  Hart. 

Tekamah, Wm.  A.  Amsbury. 


190  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Dakota, Z.  B.  Turman. 

Fort  Kearney, T.  Munhall. 

Nebraska  City  District. 

H.  T.  Davis, Presiding  Elder. 

Nebraska  City, T.  B.  Lemon 

Wyoming, J.  T.  Cannon. 

Rock  Bluff, Philo  Gorton. 

Plattsmouth   and   Oreapolis,  .    .  J.  Spilman. 

Glendale, L.  W.  Smith. 

-D^«f«?^^  f  Joel  Mason, 

^^^^^^^     jj.B.Maxtield. 

Tecumseh, William  H.  Kendal. 

Table  Rock, Isaac  Burns. 

Falls  City, J.  W.  Taylor. 

Brownville, H.  Burch. 

Peru, J.  L.  Fort. 

This  was  before  the  days  of  railroads  in  Ne- 
braska, and  I  traveled  the  district  with  my  own 
conveyance,  which  consisted  of  a  bronco  pony 
and  a  light  buggy.  I  did  not  allow  the  weather 
to  interfere  with  my  work.  My  motto  was, 
"Never  miss  an  appointment/'  I  Avent,  rain 
or  shine,  cold  or  hot.  Many  and  many  a  time 
I  Avas  drenched  through  and  through  with  the 
rain,  and  many  times  almost  frozen  to  death.  In 
the  winter  of  1862,  I  left  home  for  a  two  weeks' 
tour,  went  to  Falls  City,  and  held  quarterly  meet- 
ing, and  from  thence  went  to  Table  Rock,  and 
held  another.  After  services  Sabbath  evening,  I 
said  to  my  good  host  and  hostess.  Brother  and 
Sister  Griffin  :  "  I  should  like  very  much  to  leave 


FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE.  191 

for  home  early  to-morrow  morning."  I  had 
fifty  miles  to  travel,  and  it  was  necessary  for 
me  to  get  an  early  start.  They  were  up  bright  * 
and  early,  and  had  breakfast  before  daybreak. 
At  dawn  of  day  I  was  ready  to  leave  for  home. 
The  weather  was  bitter  cold ;  the  sun  rose  bright 
and  clear,  and  there  were  two  sun-dogs  as  bright 
almost  as  the  sun  himself.  My  course  was  north- 
east. Soon  after  starting,  a  heavy  wind  arose 
and  blew  a  stiff  gale  the  whole,  livelong  day. 
This  wind  I  had  to  face.  I  was  dressed  warmly  ; 
I  had  on  three  coats,  an  undercoat,  a  heavy  over- 
coat, and  over  this  an  oil-cloth  coat  to  keep  the 
wind  from  penetrating  the  other  clothing.  I  had 
not  gone  many  miles  before  I  was  chilled  through 
and  through.  A  person  may  be  ever  so  warmly 
clothed  on  these  prairies,  so  that  the  wind  can  not 
possibly  penetrate  the  clothing,  yet  in  breathing 
the  cold  air  he  soon  becomes  chilled,  and  if  he 
did  not  exercise  he  would  freeze  to  death.  After 
leaving  Table  Rock  I  had  a  stretch  of  some 
thirty-five  miles  to  go  over  a  bleak  prairie  with- 
out a  single  house.  When  I  became  chilled  I 
got  out  of  the  buggy  and  walked,  or  rather  ran, 
until  warmed  up ;  then  I  rode  and  ran  alternately 
the  whole  day.  Many  times  during  the  day  I 
greatly  feared  I  should  not  be  able  to  make  my 
home,  and  must  succumb  to  the  cold.  About 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  I  came  to   a   little 


192  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

frame  house  on  Spring  Creek,  some  fifteen  miles 
from  home.  Here  I  stopped,  thinking  I  would 
remain  over  night  if  I  could  obtain  accommoda- 
tions, for  I  felt  it  was  extremely  hazardous  to 
proceed  further.  The  little  shanty  was  not 
plastered.  Nothing  but  thin  clapboards  ])vo- 
tected  the  inmates  from  the .  fierce  December 
winds.  Around  a  cook-stove  a  mother  with 
half  a  dozen  children  stood  shivering  with  the 
cold,  trying  in  vain  to  keep  warm.  My  teeth 
chattered,  and  I  shook  with  the  cold  more  vio- 
lently, it  seemed,  than  any  one  ever  did  with  the 
old-fashioned  ague.  Really  it  seemed  colder  in 
that  house  than  on  the  open  prairie.  I  said  to 
myself:  "  I  can  ^t  stay  here.  This  is  worse  than 
out-doors.'^  I  went  out,  got  into  my  buggy, 
drove  on,  and  at  eight  o'clock,  almost  frozen  and 
completely  exhausted,  reached  home.  I  felt  the 
effects  of  that  fearful  day's  ride  for  many  years. 

I  was  only  twenty-eight  years  old  when  ap- 
pointed presiding  elder  of  the  Nebraska  City 
District,  and,  of  course,  looked  quite  youthful. 
Accustomed  to  associate  with  the  eldership  gray 
hairs  and  corpulency,  neither  of  which  I  pos- 
sessed, my  first  round  on  the  district  struck  the 
people  with  great  surprise,  and  caused  many 
quaint  comments.  The  first  quarterly  meeting 
was  held  in  Nemaha  City,  on  the  Brown- 
ville   Circuit.      When  I  entered  the  school-house 


FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE.  193 

with  Brother  Burch,  the  pastor,  at  two  o'clock, 
Saturday  afternoon,  and  took  my  seat  at  the 
desk,  a  sister  whispered  to  a  friend  and  said: 
"It  is  too  bad  the  presiding  elder  did  not  come 
himself.  He  has  sent  a  mere  boy  to  take  his 
place."  Similar  remarks  were  made  by  many 
during  the  first  quarter  about  the  boy  presiding 
elder. 

On  my  way  to  this  quarterly  meeting  I  stopped 
over  night  at  Peru.  Here  for  the  first  time  I 
met  the  Honorable  S.  P.  Majors,  and  was  kindly 
entertained  at  his  home;  and  ever  afterward  was 
welcomed  by  him  and  his  devoted  wife  to  their 
hospitalities.  After  introducing  me  to  his  wife, 
his  little  son  came  into  the  room,  and  Brother 
Majors  introduced  him,  saying:  "Johnny,  this  is 
Brother  Davis,  our  elder."  Soon  after.  Brother 
Majors  went  out  to  do  his  evening  chores ; 
Johnny  followed,  and  as  they  walked  together  to 
the  barn,  he  said:  "Pa,  did  you  say  that  was  the 
elder  ?" 

"  Yes,"  was  the  reply. 

"Is  that  the  kind  of  elder  they  make  pop- 
guns out  of?"  said  Johnny. 

The  joke  was  too  good   for  Brother  Majors  to 

keep  to  himself.     No  man  enjoyed  a  joke  better 

than  he.     After  supper  was  over,   and  we    were 

all  in  the  sitting-room  together,  he  told  us  what 

Johnny  had  said.     Johnny  ran  out  of  the  room, 
17 


194  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

ashamed  and  mortified,  while  the  rest  of  us 
laughed  heartily.  Ever  afterwards  when  I  met 
Brother  Majors  in  company,  he  hardly  ever  failed 
to  relate  the  incident,  and  Brother  Majors  and 
his  friends  had  many  a  hearty  laugh  at  the  ex- 
pense of  poor  Johnny  and  myself. 

Some  time  afterwards,  on  our  way  from  the 
Brownville  Conference,  in  company  with  Bishop 
Ames  and  a  number  of  preachers,  we  all  dined  at 
Brother  Majors's.  In  the  presence  of  Johnny 
and  myself,  as  usual.  Brother  Majors  told  the 
story  of  the  "popgun  elder,^^  and  the  good  bishop 
laughed  until  it  seemed  his  great  fat  sides  must 
certainly  be  sore.  Johnny  grew  up  to  manhood, 
and  on  January  21,  1882,  I  united  him  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Nettie  J.  Mutz,  a  most  estimable 
Christian  young  lady,  whom  I  had  known  from 
childhood. 

'  At  Johnny's  home,  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State,  July  13,  1886,  Brother  Majors  passed 
peacefully  away  to  his  home  in  the  skies.  His 
remains  were  brought  to  Peru  for  interment, 
and  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  April,  1886,  I 
preached  his  funeral  sermon  to  a  large  congre- 
gation of  relatives  and  friends,  from  Genesis 
XXV,  8.  He  occupied  prominent  positions  of 
trust,  both  in  the  State  and  the  Church.  He  pre- 
sided over  the  State  Convention  which  framed 
the  first  constitution  of  Nebraska,  and  was  a  lay 


FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE.  195 

delegate  from  the  Nebraska  Conference  to  the 
General  Conference  of  1872.  He  honored  every 
position  he  was  called  to  occupy.  His  wise  and 
safe  counsels  in  the  State,  the  Church,  and  the 
family  still  live.  The  fragrance  of  his  life  is 
with  us  to-day,  and  its  rich  aroma  will  remain 
through  all  time. 

When  I  took  the  district,  in  1861,  the  popu- 
lation was  sparse  and  the  people  poor.  They 
had  come  from  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States 
to  the  West  to  procure  for  themselves  homes. 
There  were  only  three  or  four  places  on  the  dis- 
trict where  the  people  had  coffee,  tea,  or  sugar.  As 
a  substitute  for  coffee  they  used  burnt  corn,  rye, 
or  wheat,  and  many  used  what  was  called  ''  Cof- 
fee Essence*' — a  compound  of  various  ingredients. 
The  principal  article  for  sweetening  was  "  sor- 
ghum molasses."  Many  of  these  kind-hearted 
people,  who  at  that  time  had  hardly  enough  to 
keep  soul  and  body  together,  have,  to-day,  large 
farms,  elegant  homes,  and  are  among  the  wealthi- 
est citizens  of  the  State.  They  have  passed  from 
poverty  to  affluence,  and  the  distance  from  the 
one  to  the  other  has  seemed  very  short. 

The  Conference  of  1862  was  held  at  Belle vue. 
Bishop  Simpson  presided.  He  and  his  wife 
came  by  stage  from  St.  Joe,  Mo.,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  the  high  water  and  the  ice  in  the  Platte 
River   were  delayed    a    day.      They  crossed  the 


196  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

turbid,  swift-flowing  Platte  in  a  skifF,  and,  the 
river  being  full  of  ice,  the  passage  was  a  most 
dangerous  one.  One  man,  with  a  pole  in  hand, 
kept  the  rushing  ice  from  capsizing  the  boat, 
while  another  rowed;  and  after  a  most  perilous 
passage,  they  reached  the  northern  bank  of  the 
stream.  Stepping  on  shore,  the  party  breathed 
easy  after  a  half-hour^s  painful  suspense.  Then 
on  a  hay-rack  the  bishop  and  his  good  wife  rode 
to  Bellevue,  a  distance  of  some  five  miles,  reach- 
ing the  Conference  in  time  for  the  opening  serv- 
ices Friday  morning. 

In  1864  the  General  Conference  met  in  Phila- 
delphia. During  the  session  Bishop  Simpson  gave 
the  Conference  a  reception  at  his  own  home.  I 
had  the  privilege  and  honor  of  attending  that 
reception.  In  conversation  with  Mrs.  Simpson  on 
the  occasion,  she  said  :  "  Our  trip  from  St.  Joe, 
Missouri,  to  Bellevue  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting chapters  in  our  lives.'' 

The  bishop  was  just  recovering  from  his  long 
illness,  and  Avas  quite  feeble  in  body.  We  greatly 
feared  he  would  not  be  able  to  preach  for  us  on 
Sabbath.  Saturday  afternoon  I  said  to  him: 
^'  Bishop,  we  expect  you  to  preach  for  us  to-mor- 
row morning.''  He  gave  us  a  significant  look, 
and  smilingly  said  :  "  Yes,  I  will  give  you  a  little 
Presbyterian    sermon."     As   we   listened   to   his 


FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE.         197 

thrilling  sermon  next  day,  we  said  :  "  If  that  is  a 
little  Presbyterian  sermon,  what  must  a  big  one 
be  V  His  graphic  description  of  the  "  seven 
stars  and  the  seven  golden  candlesticks  '^  was 
wonderful.  And  then,  as  he  said  in  his  perora- 
tion, "  Christ  is  still  walking  in  the  midst  of  the 
Churches,  holding  in  his  right  hand  the  seven 
stars,^'  the  people  were  thrilled  as  with  an  electric 
shock,  and  shouted  all  over  the  house,  "  Glory ! 
Glory !"  The  memory  of  that  precious  hour 
lingers  with  the  writer  to-day. 

The  bishop  was  entertained  by  Rev.  Wm. 
Hamilton,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Brother  Hamilton  was  sent  out  in  an  early  day 
by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  as  mis- 
sionary to  the  Indians,  and  in  1855  he  organized 
the  first  Presbyterian  Church  in  Bellevue.  He 
was  greatly  delighted  with  the  bishop  and  the 
proceedings  of  the  Conference.  He  had  never 
attended  a  Methodist  Conference  before  in  his 
life,  and  seemed  much  surprised  and  pleased,  and 
said  to  me  at  the  close  of  the  Conference:  "Do 
you  always  have  such  precious  seasons  at  your 
Conferences?^'  My  reply  was:  "Our  Confer- 
ences are  always  good,  and  often  seasons  of  re- 
freshing from  the  presence  of  the  Lord/' 

In  1862,  I  had  the  great  privilege  of  witness- 
ing   another    most    triumphant    departure     from 


198  SOLITARY  PLAGES  MADE  OLAD. 

earth.  I  stood  for  a  little  while  in  the  ante- 
chamber of  the  skies.  The  poet  has  truthfully 
said: 

"  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate 
Is  prized  above  the  common  walks  of  life, 
Quite  on  the  verge  of  heaven." 

On  Saturday  afternoon  I  went  out  to  hold 
quarterly  meeting  at  Union,  an  appointment 
on  the  Mount  Pleasant  Circuit.  I  reached 
Brother  Beatty's,  where  the  meeting  was  to  be 
held,  at  two  o'clock.  Before  entering  the  house 
a  friend  said  to  me :  "  Laura  Beatty  is  lying  very 
low  with  fever,  and  wishes  to  see  you  as  soon  as 
possible."  She  was  at  her  sister's,  about  two 
miles  away.  I  said  to  my  friend :  "  I  will  go  and 
see  her  as  soon  as  the  afternoon  services  are 
over."  The  services  ended,  I  hurried  over  to 
where  she  was,  and  on  entering  the  room  felt,  it 
seemed,  as  Jacob  did  at  Bethel  when  he  said : 
"  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place."  A  few  weeks 
before  death  she  had  a  remarkable  dream.  She 
dreamed  that  her  sainted  mother  came  to  her,  led 
her  out  into  the  grove  near  by,  and  talked  with 
her  for  some  time ;  and  as  the  heavenly  visitant 
was  about  to  leave,  said,  "Laura,  you  will  come 
to  me  soon,"  then  disappeared.  Laura  told 
her  dream  to  friends,  and  remarked :  "  I  shall 
live  but  a  little  while."  She  Avas  just  blooming 
into  womanhood   when   stricken  down  with  that 


FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE.         199 

fatal  disease,  typhoid  fever.  I  entered  the  room. 
On  her  face  rested  a  sweet,  heavenly  smile.  The 
room  was  pervaded  with  a  most  hallowed  atmos- 
phere. The  fragrance  of  the  skies  had  been 
wafted  to  that  humble  prairie  home  ;  it  was  good  to 
be  there.  She  made  every  one  in  the  room  promise 
to  meet  her  in  heaven;  then  she  sent  for  neigh- 
bors and  friends,  that  she  might  talk  with  them 
touching  their  souFs  salvation.  She  spoke  of  the 
beauties  and  glories  of  heaven,  glimpses  of  which 
she  had  seen.  Just  before  her  happy  spirit  took 
its  upward  and  eternal  flight,  she  exclaimed  in 
an  ecstasy  of  joy :  "The  angels  are  coming; 
don^t  you  see  them?  O  how  beautiful !  There  is 
mother  with  them !  And  there  is  Jesus,  my 
Savior '*  And  shortly  after,  her  enraptured 
spirit  joined  that  heavenly  throng.  How  these 
wonderful  scenes  speak  in  language  that  can  not 
be  misunderstood,  of  heaven,  the  eternal  "home 
of  the  soul  r 

In  the  winter  of  1862,  I  held  quarterly  meet- 
ing at  the  house  of  Brother  Goolsby,  on  "  The 
Muddy,^'  a  small  stream  some  five  miles  north  of 
Falls  City.  On  Sunday  morning  a  snow-storm 
set  in.  It  snowed  all  day  and  all  night,  and  on 
Monday  morning  the  snow  was  drifted  in  piles 
from  two  to  twenty  feet  deep.  The  roads  were 
completely  blockaded,  rendering  travel  impossible, 
and  I  was  compelled  to  remain  for  several  days. 


200         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD, 

While  here  I  preached  every  night  to  two  families. 
Brother  Goolsby  made  me  a  "jumper/'  and 
then,  twisting  hemp  into  ropes,  he  made  me  a 
rope  harness.  On  Friday  morning  I  ventured  to 
start  to  my  quarterly  meeting,  which  was  to  be 
held  at  Pawnee  City.  My  pony  with  the  hemp 
harness  was  hitched  to  the  quaint  sleigh.  I  got 
in  and  started,  and  after  two  days  of  hard  travel 
through  heavy  drifts  of  snow  and  the  cold,  pierc- 
ing wind,  filled  with  frost,  I  reached  my  appoint- 
ment late  Saturday  night.  After  conducting  the 
quarterly  meeting  I  traveled  over  the  bleak 
prairie  to  Nebraska  City,  my  home.  Though  the 
weather  was  fearfully  cold  and  stormy,  every  en- 
gagement was  met,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  the  meetings  were  seasons  of  great  profit 
to  all. 

After  serving  four  years  on  the  district,  I  was 
appointed,  in  1865,  to  the  Nebraska  City  Station. 
Here  we  remained  three  years,  as  long  as  the  rule 
of  the  Church  allowed.  These  years  were  passed 
pleasantly,  and  we  trust  profitably  to  the  Church. 
During  my  first  year  as  pastor  of  this  station,  a 
most  unpleasant  affair  took  place.  One  of  the 
most  atrocious  and  cold-blooded  crimes  in  the 
annals  of  the  State  was  committed  about  five  miles 
southwest  of  the  city.  William  Hamilton,  a  boy 
eleven  years  old,  was  herding  cattle  for  his  father, 
some  two  miles  from  home.    Failing  to  return  as 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  201 

usual  in  the  eveijiug,  diligent  search  was  made, 
and  his  body  was  found  in  the  edge  of  a  pool  of 
water,  in  a  stooping  posture,  his  feet  buried  in 
the  mud.  He  had  been  shot  three  times, — in  the 
corner  of  his  right  eye,  once  iu  the  ear,  and  again 
under  the  arm.  A  coroner's  jury  decided  that  he 
came  to  his  death  by  pistol-balls  supposed  to  have 
been  fired  by  a  man  named  Cash.  After  commit- 
ting the  horrible  deed,  Cash  (or  Deiricks,  as  his 
proper  name  was)  rode  into  the  city  and  sold  the 
cattle,  claiming  that  he  had  a  large  herd.  He  re- 
ceived a  small  sum  down,  the  balance  was  to  be 
received  on  delivery  of  the  cattle  next  day.  Be- 
coming alarmed,  he  immediately  left  the  city, 
crossing  the  Missouri  River  into  Iowa.  The  news 
of  the  awful  tragedy  reached  the  city,  and  the 
most  intense  excitement  prevailed.  About  one 
hundred  men  started  in  pursuit  of  the  murderer. 
He  was  captured  the  next  morning  at  Plum  Hol- 
low, Iowa,  and  on  the  16th  of  August  brought 
back  to  the  city.  At  ten  o'clock,  an  immense 
crowd  of  citizens  assembled  in  the  public  park, 
just  in  front  of  the  parsonage.  Addresses  were 
made  by  several  prominent  citizens.  A  president 
and  secretary  were  appointed,  a  jury  of  the  oldest 
and  best  citizens  impaneled,  and  counsel  for  the 
prisoner  employed.  A  just  trial  was  given  the 
prisoner.  Seven  witnesses  were  examined,  and  at 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  case  was  submitted 


202  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

to  the  jury.  The  prisoner  was  lodged  in  the 
county  jail. 

A  few  moments  afterwards  a  messenger  came 
to  the  parsonage  and  said :  "  The  prisoner  desires 
to  see  the  Methodist  preacher.^'  I  immediately 
repaired  to  the  jail,  in  the  basement  of  the  court- 
house, and  was  conducted  to  the  door  of  the  cell. 
The  bolt  was  turned,  the  door  opened,  and  I  en- 
tered. The  door  was  quickly  closed  and  the  bolt 
turned  on  us.  I  was  left  with  the  prisoner,  and 
remained  with  him  to  the  last.  Mr.  Dan  Laur, 
the  secretary  of  the  trial,  was  also  in  the  cell. 
Soon  after  entering  the  cell  a  citizen  beckoned 
me  to  the  Avindow,  and  in  a  whisper  said :  "  The 
jury  have  found  Cash  guilty  of  murder  in  the  first 
degree,  and  recommend  that  he  be  hanged ;  but  it 
will  probably  not  be  done  before  to-morrow. '^  I 
at  once  communicated  the  fact  to  the  poor  man. 
He  w^s  very  much  afflicted,  and  wept  freely.  I 
did  all  I  could  to  get  him  to  confess  the  crime, 
but  in  vain.  He  persisted  to  the  last  in  declaring 
that  the  witnesses  had  not  examined  thoroughly 
the  holes  in  the  boy's  body,  if  they  had  he  de- 
clared, "they  would  have  been  convinced  they 
were  made  by  the  turtles,  and  not  by  bullets  from 
a  pistol." 

I  prayed  with  him,  and  he  professed  to  feel 
much  better.  About  four  o'clock  I  was  called  again 
to  the  cell-window  by  a  citizen,  who  said:  "The 


FIRST  WORK  IN  NEBRASKA.  203 

people  are  terribly  excited,  and  are  becoming 
•more  so  every  moment.  Many  want  to  hang  Cash 
immediately.'^  I  told  the  prisoner  of  the  excited 
condition  of  the  people  on  the  outside,  and  said 
to  him :  "  If  you  have  any  requests  to  make  be- 
fore death,  make  them  at  once,  for  you  are  liable 
to  be  hanged  at  any  moment."  A  few  moments 
later,  Mr.  Davenport  whispered  to  me  through 
the  iron  grate:  "They  have  determined  to  hang 
Cash  at  six  o'clock."  I  told  the  prisoner  the  de- 
cision of  the  people.  He  then  made  his  will.  I 
prayed  with  him  a  number  of  times,  and  he  said 
he  believed  he  was  prepared  to  meet  God.  At 
precisely  six  o'clock  the  cell-door  opened,  and  he 
Avas  led  to  the  place  of  execution.  As  soon  as  the 
door  opened,  he  seized  me  by  the  arm  and  held 
on  with  a  death-grip  until  we  reached  the  top  of 
the  scaffold.  It  seemed  as  though  his  fingers 
would  bury  themselves  in  the  flesh  of  my  arm. 
Never  did  any  one  cling  to  me  as  that  poor  man 
did  to  the  very  last.  I  can  almost  feel  the  grip 
of  his  hands  on  my  arm  now,  although  more  than 
twenty-five  years  have  passed  since  that  fearful 
day.  Reaching  the  scaffold,  the  rope  was  adjusted 
to  his  neck.  I  offered  a  prayer,  then  shook  hands 
with  him,  bade  him  good-bye,  and  descended. 
The  drop  fell,  and  Cash  was  no  more  of  earth. 

Was  he  converted  and  prepared  for  heaven? 
I  hope  he  was.     I  earnestly  prayed  that  he  might 


204  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

be.  But  not  for  a  thousand  worlds  would  I  have 
my  salvation  suspended  on  such  a  slender  thread. 
I  have  been  utterly  disgusted,  time  and  again,  with 
the  sensational  reports,  in  the  secular  press,  of 
the  conversions  of  murderers  just  before  being 
launched  from  the  gallows  into  eternity.  I  do 
not  doubt  but  that  some  may  have  been  converted, 
but  I  greatly  fear  their  number  is  very  small.  I 
Avould  not  for  the  world  sit  in  judgment  upon  any 
human  soul.  God  alone  is  the  judge,  and  I 
know  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right.  I 
greatly  fear  Cash  was  not  converted,  and  my  fears 
are  grounded  on  the  following  facts: 

First.  He  did  not  manifest  *^ godly  sorrow" 
for  sin.  This  is  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to 
a  genuine  penitent.  A  man  may  sorrow  and  not 
repent;  he  may  sorrow  because  he  is  found  out. 
That  is  not  ^'  godly  sorrow.''  Deep,  heart-felt 
sorrow  for  having  sinned  against  God  and  high 
heaven,  is  the  first  element  in  genuine  repentance. 
Second.  He  did  not  manifest  the  fruit  of  a  genu- 
ine convert.  A  converted  man  has  the  Spirit  of 
God;  and  "the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  and 
peace."  These  he  did  not  show.  Nor,  lastly,  did 
he  confess  his  crime.  A  friend  of  mine,  living 
near  Ashland,  related  to  me  the  following  some 
years  ago.  The  circumstance  came  under  his  own 
observation.  Several  men  were  buried  in  a  coal- 
mine in  Pennsylvania.     All  were  Christians  but 


FIRST  NEBRASKA  CONFERENCE.         205 

one,  and  he  was  a  very  profane  man.  The  pas- 
sage-way was  entirely  closed,  and  they  knew  it 
would  be  many  days  before  they  could  be  rescued, 
if  rescued  at  all.  All  felt  prepared  to  die  except 
the  unconverted  man,  and  he  requested  the  others 
to  pray  for  him.  They  did  so,  and  he  professed 
to  be  converted.  After  eighteen  days  they  were 
rescued  from  what  they  all  supposed  was  to  be  their 
living  tomb.  They  were  barely  alive  when 
taken  out.  By  superior  medical  skill  and  kind 
nursing  they  recovered.  No  sooner  was  the  man 
who  had  professed  conversion  in  the  mine  re- 
stored fully  to  health  than  he  was  just  as  pro- 
fane as  he  had  ever  been.  Was  his  conversion  in 
the  mine  genuine? 

The  late  Rev.  J.  J.  Roberts,  of  the  Nebraska 
Conference,  once  said  to  the  writer  in  substance, 
in  a  private  conversation,  touching  death-bed  re- 
pentances :  "  I  have  known  a  number  duriug  my 
ministry  who,  when  very  sick  and  expecting  to 
die,  sought,  and  professed  to  obtain,  religion. 
They  afterwards  recovered,  and  in  every  case 
Avere,  after  recovery,  just  as  wicked  as  ever.'' 
Was  their  repentance  sincere  and  their  con- 
version genuine  ?  It  is,  to  say  the  least,  very 
questionable.  Few,  he  thought,  who  live  under 
the  light  of  the  gospel  were  ever  converted  on  a 
death-bed.  He  who  trusts  his  salvation  to  a 
death-bod  repentauce,  runs  a  risk  that  no  wise 
or  sane  man  will  run. 


206  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CIVIIy  WAR  INCIDENTS. 

The  Dark  Cloud — The  Rainbow  of  Promise — National 
Prosperity — "Jayhawkers" — Ordered  to  Halt — 
Depredations  —  Camp-meeting  near  Falls  City — 
Bloody  Fray — Dave  Stephenson. 

THE  spring  of  1861  was  gloomy  in  the  ex- 
treme. The  dark  storm-cloud  of  civil  war 
was  gathering.  That  portentous  cloud  grew 
darker  and  more  dense  with  fearful  rapidity,  and 
soon  covered  the  whole  Nation  with  its  sable 
mantle.  Then  the  storm  of  fratricidal  strife 
broke  with  unrelenting  fury  upon  the  land.  For 
four  long  years  brother  fought  brother,  until  the 
whole  Nation  was  crimsoned  with  the  best  blood 
of  the  American  people.  In  every  household 
there  was  mourning;  on  every  face  rested  the 
gloom  of  sadness.  Of  all  wars,  the  one  most  to 
be  deplored  is  civil  war. 

Many  in  Missouri,  who  sympathized  with  the 
Eebellion,  fled  from  the  State.  Nebraska  City 
was  the  rendezvous  for  these  during  the  war. 
Here  they  congregated  in  great  numbers.  The 
Union  men  in  the  city  were  very  strong  and  out- 


CIVIL  WAR  INCIDENTS.  207 

spoken,  and  brave  as  they  were  strong.  Many 
of  the  rebels  had  lost  property  in  Missouri,  and 
their  friends  were  in  the  rebel  army,  and  they, 
of  course,  were  very  sensitive  on  the  war  ques- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  the  Union  men  had 
friends  in  the  Union  army,  and  they  were  in- 
censed at  the  insult  given  the  Stars  and  Stripes; 
and  they,  too,  were  sensitive.  They  saw  the 
best  Government  on  which  the  sun  ever  shone 
menaced  with  destruction.  They  saw  the  might- 
iest Nation  on  this  planet — a  Nation  whose  flag 
was  respected  on  every  sea  and  in  every  land — in 
danger  of  being  rent  asunder,  and  blotted  from 
existence.  And  as  they  saw  all  this,  it  was  not 
at  all  strange  that  their  hearts  were  stirred  to 
their  inmost  depths.  At  times  matters  grew  fear- 
fully hot.  We  knew  not  what  the  final  result 
would  be.  No  one  could  predict  with  certainty 
the  outcome.  May  such  times  never  again  occur  ! 
May  such  scenes  never  again  be  witnessed !  May 
such  a  cloud  never  again  darken  our  National 
horizon  !  How  glad  we  were  when  the  rainbow 
of  promise  arched  our  National  firmament  after 
the  fearful  storm,  and  how  our  hearts  thrilled 
with  delight  when  the  snow-white  dove  was  seen 
bearing  the  olive-branch  of  peace  in  her  bill! 

The  storm  passed.  The  moral  atmosphere  of 
the  Nation  was  purified.  The  greatest  evil  of  the 
age — "  the  sum  of  all  villainies  "—was  wiped  out. 


208  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Emerging  from  the  dire  conflict,  the  Nation  en- 
tered upon  a  career  of  prosperity  unparalleled  in 
history.  The  wealth  of  America  is  phenomenal. 
Our  Nation  is  the  youngest  Nation  on  the  globe, 
and  yet  it  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  wealthy. 
And  what  is  more  significant  still,  the  most  of 
this  wealth  has  been  accumulated  siuce  the  Civil 
War  closed.  Other  nations  have  been  centuries 
amassing  their  wealth ;  the  greater  part  of  the 
wealth  of  the  United  States  is  the  product  of 
about  twenty-five  years. 

During  the  war,  there  were  bands  of  men 
who  went  under  the  name  of  '^Jay-hawkers.'' 
They  first  made  their  appearance  in  1862. 
Sometimes  they  claimed  to  be  "Unionists;'' 
at  other  times,  '^  Confederates."  They  sailed 
under  the  flag  that  best  suited  their  own  con- 
venience. They  were  more  loyal  to  them- 
selves than  to  either  party.  They  took  advan- 
tage of  the  war  to  fill  their  coffers  by  plunder 
and  robbery.  Some  of  these  bands  of  freeboot- 
ers were,  however,  strong  in  their  allegiance  to 
their  party.  They  were  quite  numerous  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  State.  In  traveling 
through  my  district  I  often  met  them.  .  They 
knew  me,  and  I  generally  knew  them.  They 
very  frequently  attended  my  meetings.  They 
never  interfered  with  me  but  once,  and  that  was 
by    mistake.     Midway    between    Peru    and    Ne- 


CIVIL  WAR  INCIDENTS.  209 

braska  City^  as  I  rode  leisurely  along  the  road, 
one  beautiful  Monday  afternoon,  two  of  them 
came  dashing  up  behind  me.  They  were  armed 
to  the  teeth  with  knives  and  revolvers,  and  their 
long,  uncombed  hair  hung  in  mats  over  their 
shoulders.  They  were  not  the  most  prepossessing 
and  inviting  men  I  had  ever  seen,  by  any  means. 
On  reaching  the  buggy,  they  parted.  One  rode  up 
to  my  right,  and  the  other  to  my  left.  The  one 
on  my  left  drew  a  large  navy  revolver,  and  cried 
out,  "Halt!''  I  reined  in  my  horse,  and  stopped. 
The  other  one  recognized  me,  and  immediately 
said  to  his  comrade :  "  Hello,  Bill,  this  is  Elder 
Davis !''  They  turned,  put  spurs  to  their  horses, 
and  were  soon  out  of  sight;  while  I  passed  on, 
unharmed,  to  my  home.  They  entered  a  house 
near  Peru.  The  husband  and  father  was  in  the 
army.  The  mother  and  daughters  were  at  home, 
alone.  The  Jay-hawkers  demanded  of  the  woman 
her  money.  She  refused  to  tell  them  where  it 
was.  In  the  house  was  an  old-fashioned  fire- 
place, and,  as  the  weather  was  cold,  there  was  a 
good  fire.  The  desperadoes  drew  out  a  large  bed 
of  coals,  ordered  the  mother  to  take  off  her  shoes 
and  stockings;  then,  setting  her  in  a  chair,  placed 
her  bare  feet  on  the  burning  coals  of  fire,  and  told 
her  they  would  release  her  when  she  told  them 
where  her  money  was.  Of  course  she  did  not  re- 
main long  in  that  position.  The  robbers  got 
18 


210  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

what  they  went  for — all  the  money  the  family 
had.  This  is  only  a  sample  of  their  mode  of 
operations. 

We  were  holding  a  camp-meeting  near  Falls 
City,  in  1862.  At  this  meeting  were  a  number 
of  our  "  boys  in  blue.^'  With  many  of  them  I 
was  intimately  acquainted.  Brave,  noble  boys 
they  were — loyal  to  the  core,  and  true  to  the  "  old 
flag.^'  Saturday  night  a  number  of  rebel  "  Jay- 
hawkers^'  from  Missouri  came  over.  AVe  knew 
they  were  present,  and  greatly  feared  the  conse- 
quences. We  all  felt  certain  there  would  be. 
trouble.  "  Our  boys ''  were  not  in  a  mood  to  hear 
the  slightest  insinuation  against  the  Government 
in  its  efforts  to  put  down  the  Rebellion.  They 
were  ready  at  a  moment  to  resent  any  word  or 
act  not  perfectly  loyal.  Sunday  evening,  about 
sundown,  as  I  stood  near  the  stand,  I  noticed  a 
large  crowd  at  the  upper  end  of  the  ground.  A 
moment  afterwards,  a  woman  came  rushing  down 
towards  the  pulpit,  intensely  excited,  and  ex- 
claimed :  "  Elder,  elder,  go  up  there  quick !  They 
are  killing  our  boys  V^  I  ran  up ;  but  before 
reaching  the  spot  the  crowd  had  dispersed.  Poor 
Dave  Stephenson,  however,  had  received  a  fear- 
ful stab  in  the  side  from  one  of  the  rebels.  We 
carried  him  down  to  his  father's  tent,  arranged  a 
bed  in  a  wagon-box,  and  made  him  as  comfort- 
able as  possible.     Here   he  lay,  suffering   great 


CIVIL  WAR  INCIDENTS.  211 

agonvj  all  night  long.  All  thought  the  wotind 
would  prove  fatal;  but  a  kind  Providence  or- 
dered it  otherwise,  and  he  recovered.  The  whole 
camp-ground  was  in  a  perfect  ferment  of  excite- 
ment. Soon,  however,  the  excitement  subsided, 
the  people  assembled  at  the  stand,  the  usual  services 
were  held,  God  owned  and  blessed  the  A¥ord,  and 
souls  were  saved.  Many  earnest  prayers  went 
up  for  '^Dave^s"  recovery.  These  prayers  were 
answered.  "Dave'^  has  since  held  responsible 
positions  of  trust  in  the  State,  at  one  time  filling 
the  position  of  surveyor-general.  His  father  and 
mother  were  devoted  Christians,  ardently  attached 
to  the  Church,  and  they  did  much  for  God  and 
our  Zion  in  that  early  day. 

The  Civil  War  revealed  the  true  character  of 
many  men,  and  many  supposed  good  men  were 
found  to  be,  when  opportunity  offered,  as  vile  as 
the  vilest. 


212  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LINCOLN. 

Location — Salt  Basins — First  Settlers — Indians — First 
Sermon  in  the  County — Elder  Young — Lancaster — 
Visit  to  the  New  Town  —  Act  Providing  for  the 
Change  of  the  Capital — Lot-sales — First  Legisla- 
ture IN  the  New  Capital — First  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  —  Other  Churches. 

IN  the  present  chapter  I  wish  to  sketch  the  his- 
tory of  Lincoln,  giving  a  brief  outline  of  its 
rise,  growth,  and  prosperity. 

Lincoln  is  the  county-seat  of  Lancaster  County, 
and  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Nebraska;  it  is 
fifty  miles  west  of  the  Missouri  River,  and  stands 
on  the  banks  of  Salt  Creek.  The  beautiful  capitol 
crowns  the  highest  elevation  of  the  plateau  on 
which  the  city  stands.  A  circle  of  low  hills,  a 
few  miles  away,  surrounds  the  city.  The  scenery 
on  every  hand  is  the  most  charming.  In  full 
view,  to  the  west  of  the  city,  are  the  "  Salt  Basins." 
On  a  bright  summer  day — and  for  these  Nebraska 
is  noted — these  basins  resemble  large  bodies  of 
limpid  water;  they  are,  however,  level  surfaces 
of  compact  earth,  covered  with  a  layer  of  '*  saline 


LINCOLN.  213 

crystal,  and  intersected  with  tiny  rivers  of  brine 
flowing  into  the  creek,"  from  which  the  creek 
derives  its  name  and  character.  They  were  dis- 
covered in  1856,  and  their  value  was  at  once 
recognized.  Long  before  Lincoln  was  founded, 
the  early  settlers  came  for  many  miles  to  these 
basins,  and  made  the  salt  necessary  for  their 
yearly  supply.  The  brine  from  the  springs  and 
rivulets  is  very  strong,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
farmer,  by  boiling  the  brine,  could  make  salt  suf- 
ficient to  last  during  the  year.  When  traveling 
the  Nebraska  City  District  from  1861  to  1865,  I 
found  that  many  of  the  settlers  from  Johnson, 
Pawnee,  Gage,  and  other  counties,  came  here, 
made  and  laid  in  their  yearly  supply  of  salt.  In 
no  distant  day  these  basins  will,  without  doubt, 
be  a  source  of  great  revenue  to  the  State. 

In  1850,  when  passing  over  the  Plains,  we 
crossed  Salt  Creek,  eight  miles  south  of  Lincoln, 
at  a  point  now  called  Saltillo.  Here  we  camped 
during  the  night,  little  dreaming  that  near  where 
we  were,  in  a  few  short  years,  would  rise  one  of 
the  greatest  cities  of  the  West,  and  the  capital 
of  one  of  the  largest  and  richest  States  of  our 
Union.  Six  years  later,  the  first  settlement  was 
made  in  the  county,  a  few  miles  further  south,  by 
Mr.  John  D.  Prey  and  his  sons.  I  first  met  some 
members  of  the  family  in  1861,  at  a  quarterly 
meeting  held  at  the  residence  of  James  Eatherton. 


214  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Mrs.  Prey  was  a  devoted  Christian,  and  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  Preyi, 
reached  Salt  Creek  June  15,  1856.  At  that  time 
the  land  in  the  county  was  not  surveyed;  the 
following  year  the  land-office  was  established  in 
Nebraska  City.  The  same  year  the  county  of 
Lancaster  was  partly  surveyed,  and  Mr.  Prey  and 
his  sons  located  their  claims.  For  some  time  they 
were  the  only  people  living  anywhere  near  the 
salt  basins. 

During  the  first  summer  all  the  settlers  could 
do  was  to  break  land ;  as  they  came  late  in  the 
season,  they  were  unable  to  raise  any  crops.  In 
1857  very  little  was  raised;  but  in  1858  a  large 
crop  was  harvested;  prosperity  dawned  upon  the 
settlers,  and  the  future  began  to  look  bright  and 
hopeful. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  county,  when  the 
settlers  numbered  only  eight  or  ten,  the  first  In- 
dian scare  occurred.  It  was  in  1857,  when  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Davis  settled  near  Saltillo.  This 
man  had  a  vain  and  wicked  desire  to  kill  an  Indian, 
and  it  was  not  long  until  an  opportunity  of  grati- 
fying this  unholy  desire  Avas  given  him.  Without 
provocation  he  deliberately  shot  down  an  innocent 
Indian.  The  Indians  were  numerous,  and  when 
they  found  that  one  of  their  number  had  been 
killed  in  cold  blood  by  a  white  man,  they  at  once 
went  upon  the  war-path.     Who  could  blame  them  ? 


LINCOLN.  215 

The  whifce  man  was  the  aggressor.  The  settlers 
were  alarmed,  and  fled  to  Weeping  Water  Falls. 
Here  they  remained  for  two  weeks.  The  Indians, 
however,  soon  quieted  down,  and  the  settlers  re- 
turned to  their  claims. 

In  1859  another  Indian  scare  occurred.  A 
band  of  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  came  to  the 
salt-basins,  evidently  bent  on  mischief.  Unex- 
pectedly they  reached  the  homestead  of  Mr.  Prey 
when  the  men  folks  were  all  away.  Mrs.  Prey, 
her  daughter  Rebecca,  twelve  years  old,  and  two 
boys,  aged  eight  and  fifteen  years,  were  alone. 
When  the  Indians  appeared,  Rebecca  was  some 
distance  from  the  house,  and  the  Indians  were 
about  to  seize  and  carry  her  away  a  captive;  but 
their  plans  were  frustrated  by  the  courage  of  the 
mother,  and  the  timely  arrival  of  the  male  mem- 
bers of  the  family.  They  did  but  little  damage 
as  they  passed  on  to  the  north. 

Five  years  afterwards,  in  1864,  another  Indian 
scare  took  place.  The  bloodthirsty  Sioux  were 
on  the  war-path.  They  were  coming  from  the 
west,  killing  and  plundering  and  laying  waste 
the  country  as  they  came,  and  the  settlers  of 
Lancaster  County  fled  in  terror  to  the  east.  A 
few  of  the  men,  however,  determined  to  remain 
until  they  should  see  the  Indians  approach. 
Some  days  elapsed ;  but  the  murderous  Sioux 
did  not  put  in  an  appearance.     Then  these  brave 


216  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

men,  eight  in  all,  determined  to  go  west  until 
they  learned  something  definite  with  regard  to 
the  E>ed-skins.  Mounted,  and  armed  to  the  teeth 
with  rifles  and  revolvers,  they  started  in  pursuit 
of  the  foe.  The  party  was  composed  of  Captain 
W.  T.  Donivan,  John  S.  Gregory,  E.  M.  War- 
ens,  Richard  Wallingford,  James  Morgan,  John 
P.  Loder,  Aaron  Wood,  and  one  other.  With 
most  of  them  I  was  personally  acquainted.  They 
pushed  on  to  the  west  until  they  reached  the  val- 
ley of  the  Blue,  near  where  Milford  now  stands ; 
and  as  they  were  looking  for  the  wily  Sioux,  they 
saw  a  single  Indian,  peeping  over  the  hill,  some 
distance  to  their  rear.  The  lone  Indian,  looking 
over  the  hill,  boded  no  good  to  the  whites.  They 
were  fully  convinced  that  he  was  a  picket-guard, 
and  that  near  by,  in  all  probability,  there  was  a 
w^hole  tribe  of  warriors.  They  determined  to 
ride  back,  but  had  only  started,  when,  from  the 
low  ground,  there  suddenly  rose  up  before  them 
several  hundred  well-mounted  and  well-armed 
Indians.  The  Indians  were  right  across  their 
path,  and  the  savage  Red-men  began  to  bear 
down  upon  the  little  band  of  whites.  It  was  a 
critical  moment,  and  the  cheeks  of  the  brave 
men  for  once  were  blanched.  Death  seemed  in- 
evitable. They  determined  to  make  a  desperate 
effort  to  escape,  and,  in  the  attempt,  to  sell  their 
lives  as  dear  as  possible.     They  strapped   their 


LINCOLN.  217 

rifles  to  their  shoulders,  and,  with  drawn  revolv- 
ers, they  started,  determined  to  force  a  passage 
through  the  line  of  well-armed  savages  or  die  in 
the  attempt.  Just  as  they  were  starting,  the  In- 
dians put  up  a  white  flag;  and  one  of  their  num- 
ber, throwing  away  his  gun  in  token  of  friend- 
ship, came  forward  to  meet  them,  and  as  he  came 
up  to  them  said:  "How?  Me  no  Sioux;  me 
Pawnee.  Me  no  fight  white  man.^'  What  a  re- 
lief it  Avas  to  the  whites !  It  proved  to  be  true ; 
they  were  a  band  of  Pawnee  warriors,  on  the 
war-path  against  the  Sioux;  and  when  they  first 
saw  the  white  men  they  supposed  they  were  a 
party  of  Sioux  stragglers.  The  Pawnees  passed 
on  after  the  Sioux,  and  the  whites  returned  to 
their  homes,  glad  to  let  Indians  fi-ght  Indians. 

Among  the  first  settlers  who  came  after  the 
Prey  family  were  W.  T.  Donivan,  James  Eather- 
ton,  John  Cadman,  R.  Wallingford,  W.  E.  Keys, 
E.  Warens,  J.  A.  Wallingford,  and  John  S.  Greg- 
ory. John  Dee  came  about  the  same  time  the 
Preys  did.  As  late  as  1860-63  a  bufi^alo  might 
occasionally  have  been  seen,  and  over  the  prai- 
ries where  Lincoln  now  stands  herds  of  antelope 
gamboled;  coyotes  were  numerous,  and  their 
shrill  bark  was  often  heard,  especially  during  the 
night. 

In  the  history  of  Lincoln  we  find  the  follow- 
ing about  Mr.  John  S.  Gregory :  "  During  the 
19 


218  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

winter  of  1863  Mr.  John  S.  Gregory,  not  having 
any  other  business  to  attend  to,  gave  attention  to 
destroying  some  of  the  numerous  wolves  wliich 
then  infested  this  region.  He  would  insert  a 
few  grains  of  strychnine  into  little  balls  of  fat, 
and  then  pass  around  a  large  circuit  and  drop 
the  balls  into  the  snow.  The  wolves  would  fol- 
low the  trail,  and  snap  up  every  ball.  Every 
wolf  that  swallowed  a  ball  was  dead  in  a  short 
time.  He  would  then  skin  the  animals,  their 
pelts  being  valuable  at  that  time.  The  carcasses 
he  piled  up  in  cords,  north  of  Lincoln,  to  pre- 
vent the  poisoning  of  domestic  animals  by  eating 
the  flesh.  They  were  frozen  stiif  and  stark,  and 
corded  up  like  wood.  Toward  spring  Mr.  Greg- 
ory had  a  couple  of  cords  of  carcasses  piled  up  at 
one  place.  Then  a  lot  of  Pawnee  Indians  came 
along,  and  stopped  near  the  cords  of  wolf-car- 
casses. Mr.  Gregory,  fearing  they  might  eat  the 
wolves,  rode  over  to  warn  them  of  the  danger. 
He  found  the  squaws  and  papooses  lugging  the 
wolf-carcasses  into  camp,  and  he  at  once  expos- 
tulated with  them  by  signs,  trying  to  make  them 
understand  it  was  dangerous  to  eat  the  wolves. 
The  old  chief  thought  he  was  demanding  the  re- 
turn of  the  wolves  because  they  were  his  prop- 
erty, and,  at  the  chief's  command,  the  squaws 
and  papooses  lugged  the  carcasses  back,  and 
piled    them    up    again.     They    were    not    well 


LINCOLN.  219 

pleased  at  the  prospect  of  losing  a  feast,  and  re- 
turned the  wolf-meat  with  long  faces.  Finally, 
a  member  of  the  tribe,  who  could  speak  a  little 
English,  came  along,  and  Mr.  Gregory  explained 
to  him  that  he  did  not  care  for  the  wolf-carcasses, 
but  did  not  want  the  Indians  to  be  poisoned. 
This  explanation  was  made  to  the  Indians,  who 
set  up  a  big  guffaw,  and  the  squaws  at  once  be- 
gan to  gather  up  the  wolf-carcasses  and  take  them 
to  camp,  laughing  and  indulging  in  expressions 
of  great  satisfaction.  They  cooked  up  the  last 
one  of  the  wolves,  and  had  a  great  feast.  Mr. 
Gregory  learned  from  the  interpreter  that  the 
Indians  were  well  acquainted  with  the  use  of 
strychnine  in  killing  wolves,  and  were  in  the 
habit  of  eating  animals  killed  in  this  way.  They 
had  no  fear  of  the  drug,  and  suffered  no  appar- 
ent damage  from  eating  the  wolves." 

In  the  fall  of  1859  the  settlers  met  under  the 
shade  of  a  large  elm-tree,  standing  on  the  bank 
of  Salt  Creek,  near  where  the  B.  and  M.  round- 
house now  stands,  to  effect  a  county  organiza- 
tion. A  committee  was  appointed  to  select  a  site 
for  a  county-seat  and  lay  out  a  town.  The  com- 
mittee selected  the  present  site  of  Lincoln,  and 
called  it  "  Lancaster.''  For  some  time  "  Lancas- 
ter" was  only  a  paper  town,  without  inhabitants. 
The  same  year  John  Cadman  settled  in  the  south- 
ern  part   of  the  county.     Subsequently    he    was 


220  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

made  county  judge,  and  ever  afterwards  was  fa- 
miliarly known  as  "Judge  Cadman.'^  The  writer 
first  met  him  at  a  quarterly  meeting,  held  in 
1861,  south  of  Saltillo.  The  meeting  was  held 
in  the  private  house  of  James  Eatherton,  on  the 
bank  of  Salt  Creek,  twelve  miles  south  of  the 
city  of  Lincoln.  The  judge  was  deeply  inter- 
ested in  laying  the  foundations  of  the  Church  in 
the  new  Territory.  He  was  not  only  an  active 
Church  member  in  that  early  day,  but  was  an 
enterprising  citizen  as  well.  He  took  an  active 
part  in  having  what  was  known  as  "The  Steam- 
wagon  Road ''  built  from  Nebraska  City  west  to 
Fort  Kearney.  A  steam-wagon  was  invented, 
and  the  inventor  brought  this  wagon  up  the  Mis- 
souri River  to  Nebraska  City.  When  it  landed, 
a  most  profound  sensation  was  produced.  The 
most  intense  excitement  prevailed  among  the  cit- 
izens. It  was  thought  by  many  that  it  would 
create  a  complete  revolution  in  traveling  and 
freight-carrying  over  the  plains.  Streams  were 
bridged,  hills  graded,  sloughs  filled,  and  a  good 
road  was  made  for  the  "  steam- wagon.'^  Although 
the  "steam-wagon"  proved  an  utter  failure,  and 
never  amounted  to  anything  at  all,  a  most  excel- 
lent highway  was  built,  and  the  people  living 
along  the  road  were  more  than  compensated  for 
their  labor  and  expense.  Judge  Cad  man  took 
an  active  part  also  in  having  the   capital  of  the 


LINCOLN.  221 

State  changed,  and  located  in  Lancaster  County. 
For  many  years  he  lived  in  the  city,  and  aided 
in  building  up  the  new  capital.  He  is  now  liv- 
ing in  California,  in  the  city  of  Los  Angeles. 

The  first  sermon  ever  preached  near  where 
the  city  of  Lincoln  now  stands  was  by  Rev.  Z. 
B.  Turman,  in  1857.  A  detailed  account  of 
Brother  Turman's  work  may  be  found  in  the 
following  chapter. 

In  1863,  Elder  J.  M.  Young,  whose  name  is 
familiar  to  all  the  early  settlers  of  this  county, 
a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church, 
located  at  this  point  wdth  a  colony.  Elder  Young 
organized  a  Methodist  Protestant  society,  and  the 
society  afterwards  erected  a  large  stone  church — 
one  of  the  first  church  edifices  built  in  the  city 
of  Lincoln.  He  also  organized  societies  at  dif- 
ferent places  in  the  county.  The  design  of 
Elder  Young  and  his  colony  was  to  locate  and 
build  up  a  denominational  school  of  high  grade. 
A  seminary  was  founded,  and  a  stone  building 
erected,  which  stood  where  the  State  Journal 
block  now  stands.  The  seminary,  however,  did 
not  prove  a  success. 

In  1866,  I  visited  Lancaster,  and  spent  a  Sab- 
bath in  the  new  town,  which  had  at  that  time 
half  a  dozen  houses.  I  preached  on  Sunday 
morning  in  a  little  unfinished  school-house  to  a 
small  congregation    of   attentive   and  intelligent 


222         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

listeners,  little  dreaming  that  this  unpretentious 
town  was  so  soon  to  become  one  of  the  mightiest 
of  Western  cities,  and  the  capital  of  one  of  the 
most  thrifty  and  populous  States  in  the  American 
Union.  I  never  was  more  impressed  in  my  life 
with  the  beauty  of  any  place  than  I  was  with 
Lancaster  and  the  whole  surrounding  country. 
It  seemed  that  nature  had  never  been  more  prodi- 
gal in  lavishing  beauty  and  attractions  upon  any 
place  than  the  country  where  the  city  of  Lincoln 
now  stands.  I  returned  to  my  home  in  Nebraska 
City,  and  immediately  located  some  land  near 
the  new  town. 

On  June  20,  1867,  a  bill  passed  the  Legisla- 
ture providing  for  the  removal  and  permanent  lo- 
cation of  the  capital  of  Nebraska.  Omaha  was 
then  the  seat  of  government.  The  bill,  of  course, 
had  its  bitter  enemies,  and  was  fought  to  the  very 
last  with  all  the  ability  and  energy  its  opponents 
could  command.  The  contest  Avas  a  long  and 
heated  one,  full  of  acrimony,  and  no  small  amount 
of  ill-feeling  was  engendered.  The  bill  provided, 
first,  "That  the  governor,  secretary  of  state, 
and  auditor  be,  and  are  hereby,  appointed  com- 
missioners for  the  purpose  of  locating  the  seat  of 
government  and  the  public  buildings  of  the  State." 
And  second,  "  On  or  before  July,  1867,  the  com- 
missioners, or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  select 
from  the  lands  belonging  to  the  State  within  the 


LINCOLN.  223 

following  limits,  to-wit,  the  County  of  Seward, 
the  south  half  of  the  County  of  Saunders  and 
Butler,  and  that  portion  of  the  County  of  Lan- 
caster lying  north  of  the  south  line  of  Township 
Nine,  a  suitable  site  of  not  less  than  six  hundred 
and  forty  acres  lying  in  one  body,  for  a  town, 
due  regard  being  had  to  its  accessibility  from  all 
parts  of  the  State,  and  its  general  fitness  for  a 
capital.  They  shall  immediately  survey,  lay  off, 
and  stake  out  the  said  tract  of  land  into  lots, 
blocks,  streets  and  alleys,  and  public  squares  or* 
reservations  for  public  buildings,  which  said  town, 
when  so  laid  out  and  surveyed,  shall  be  named 
and  known  as  Lincoln,  and  the  same  is  hereby 
declared  to  be  the  permanent  seat  of  government 
of  the  State  of  Nebraska,  at  which  all  of  the 
public  offices  of  the  State  shall  be  kept,  and  at 
which  all  of  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature  shall 
hereafter  be  hcld/^  The  bill  further  provided 
that  the  State  University  and  State  Agricultural 
College  should  be  united  as  one  educational  insti- 
tution, and  should  be  located  upon  a  reservation 
selected  by  the  commissioners  in  said  "  Lincoln,^' 
and  the  necessary  buildings  erected  as  soon  as 
funds  could  be  secured  from  the  sale  of  lots  do- 
nated to  the  State ;  and  that  the  penitentiary  of 
the  State  should  be  '^  located  upon  a  reservation 
selected  by  the  said  commissioners  in  Lincoln, 
or  upon  lands  adjacent  to  said  town  of  Lincoln/' 


224  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Immediately  on  the  adjournment  of  the  Legis- 
lature, the  commissioners — Governor  David  But- 
ler, Secretary  T.  P.  Kennard,  and  Auditor  John 
Gillespie — entered  upon  their  duties.  They  trav- 
eled over  the  country,  personally  surveyed  the 
lands  from  which  the  selection  was  to  be  made 
on  which  the  new  capital  was  to  be  located,  and 
after  a  careful  survey  of  all  the  lands,  "  due  re- 
gard being  had  to  its  accessibility  from  all  parts 
of  the  State,'^  they  selected  as  the  future  capital 
'of  the  State  of  Nebraska  the  site  on  which  the 
city  of  Lincoln  now  stands.  The  wisdom  of  that 
selection  has  been  vindicated  by  the  marvelous 
growth  of  the  city,  and  the  general  prosperity  of 
the  State.  Lincoln  is  to-day  the  great  railroad 
center  of  the  State,,  easy  of  access  from  every  part 
of  our  commonwealth. 

The  city  was  platted  into  lots,  blocks,  and  res- 
ervations according  to  the  provisions  of  the  act 
of  the  Legislature,  and  the  following  September 
the  lots  were  offered  at  public  sale.  I  had  the 
privilege  of  attending  this  public  sale,  and  saw 
the  first  lot  in  the  city  of  Lincoln  sold  at  auction. 

There  were  only  a  few  houses  then  in  the 
new  town.  Many  felt  that  accommodations  for 
those  attending  the  sales  would  be  limited,  hence 
they  came  with  tents  and  covered  wagons,  bring- 
ing with  them  their  own  provisions.  The  public 
square,   where   the  Government   post-office  now 


LINCOLN.  225 

stands,  was  covered  with  a  heavy  crop  of  prairie- 
grass,  and  furnished  a  delightful  camping-ground 
for  those  in  attendance.  Here  they  pitched  their 
tents,  and  camped  during  the  sales. 

Judge  Cadman  kept  the  hotel  in  the  stone 
house  which  was  formerly  the  old  stone  semi- 
nary building.  At  this  hotel  the  cornmissioners, 
the  Avriter,  and  many  friends  from  Nebraska  City 
were  entertained.  No  pains  Avere  spared  by  the 
judge  and  his  large-hearted  wife  to  make  us  all 
as  comfortable  as  it  was  possible  for  us  to  be  made 
under  the  circumstances.  The  three  days  of  sale 
Avere  memorable  days,  and  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  were  present.  The  first  day  was  a 
gloomy  one.  During  the  forepart  of  the  day 
there  was  a  drizzling  rain.  There  were  not  as 
many  people  present  as  was  expected,  and  the 
commissioners  felt  as  gloomy  and  sad  as  the  weather 
looked  dark  and  forbidding.  In  the  afternoon 
we  followed  the  commissioners  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  plat,  and  the  first  lot,  in  block  one, 
was  offered  for  sale.  Governor  Butler  bid  the 
minimum  price.  Rev.  J.  G.  Miller  overbid  the 
governor  twenty-five  cents,  and  the  first  lot  in 
the  future  great  city  of  Lincoln  was  knocked  down 
to  him  for  forty  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents. 
The  bidding  in  the  afternoon  was  very  slow  and 
dull.  There  was  no  enthusiasm  whatever.  But 
few  were  willing  to  take  the  risk  of  a  purchase. 


226  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

as  the  success  of  tlie  sclieme  was  a  very  doubtful 
one.  Only  a  few  lots  were  offered,  when  the 
governor  announced  the  sales  closed  until  the 
next  day  at  nine  o^clock.  At  the  close  of  the  first 
day's  sales  the  success  of  the  new  project  looked 
doubtful  in  the  extreme.  I  think  all  the  com- 
missioners felt  that  the  whole  thing  was  a  com- 
plete failure. 

Tliat  night  a  syndicate  was  formed,  mostly  of 
men  from  Nebraska  City,  with  a  capital  of  fifteen 
thousand  dollars.  This  amount  the  syndicate 
agreed  to  invest  in  lots,  also  to  bid  on  every  lot 
offered  for  sale.  Rev.  J.  G.  Miller  agreed  to  in- 
vest fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  lots.  Mr.  James 
Sweet  was  authorized  to  bid  for  the  syndicate. 
The  sales  began  at  nine  o'clock,  and  the  bidding 
at  once  became  lively. 

The  people  became  enthusiastic,  and  the  en- 
thusiasm kept  up  during  the  whole  day.  The 
day  closed  most  hopefully,  eighteen  thousand  dol- 
lars worth  of  lots  having  been  disposed  of.  The 
success  of  the  wonderful  undertaking  was  assured. 
Doubts  and  fears  left  the  minds  of  the  commis- 
sioners. Every  one  interested  in  the  movement 
was  jubilant.  The  dense  cloud  that  had  hung  so 
long  over  the  friends  of  the  movement  broke  into 
fragments,  scattered,  and  entirely  disappeared,  and 
the  bright  sun  of  future  success  poured  his  genial 
fays  upon  all.    In  a  short  time  money  enough 


LINCOLN.  227 

was  secured  from  the  sale  of  lots  to  build  the  new 
State-house. 

Plans  and  specfficatious  for  the  new  State- 
house  were  adopted  by  the  commissioners.  The 
contract  for  the  building  was  at  once  let,  and  the 
foundation  was  laid  before  cold  weather. 

There  is  an  unwritten  history  connected  with 
the  carrying  forward  of  this  great  undertaking, 
known  only  to  the  commissioners  and  a  few  of 
the  older  settlers  of  the  county.  At  almost  every 
step,  from  the  very  first,  the  commissioners  were 
met  with  difficulties.  Obstacle  after  obstacle  rose 
before  them,  barrier  after  barrier  impeded  them 
in  their  progress.  These  obstacles,  however,  were 
overcome;  these  barriers,  one  after  another,  gave 
way  before  their  untiring  energy,  and  at  last 
victory  crowned  their  efforts.  The  building  was 
ready  for  occupancy  the  following  winter.  All 
the  State  offices  were  moved  from  Omaha  to  Lin- 
coln, and  in  January,  1869,  the  Nebraska  State 
Legislature  was  held  in  the  new  capital. 

In  the  spring  of  1868,  '^Lincoln"  first  ap- 
peared upon  the  Minutes  of  the  Nebraska  Annual 
Conference,  and  the  writer  was  appointed  pastor. 
The  town  contained  a  population  of  some  two 
hundred  souls.  There  was  no  parsonage,  beauti- 
fully and  richly  furnished;  no  large  society  to 
greet  the  pastor  and  his  family,  and  give  them  a 
royal  welcome  and  a  grand  reception.    The  pastor 


228         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

built  liis  own  house,  and  furnished  it  as  best  he 
could.  While  our  house  was  being  finished, 
Mrs.  Davis  did  her  cooking  in  the  largest  kitchen 
we  ever  had,  and  never  once  complained  for  the 
want  of  room.  The  ceiling  was  high,  the  floor 
beautifully  carpeted  with  living  green,  the  venti- 
lation perfect,  and  our  appetites  of  the  very  best. 
Here  we  lived  a  number  of  days  in  the  most 
roomy  apartment  we  ever  had. 

We  found  sixteen  members  of  the  Church,  in- 
cluding men,  women,  and  children,  and  a  small 
church  on  Tenth  Street,  inclosed  only.  We  found 
another  thing  we  did  not  like  so  well.  On  this 
shell  of  a  house  we  found  what  the  little  girl 
called  "  the  latest  improvement  '^ — a  four-hundred- 
dollar  mortgage. 

We  went  to  work,  finished  the  building,  and 
consecrated  it  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God, 
Dr.  W.  B.  Slaughter  preaching  the  dedicatory 
sermon.  At  the  end  of  one  year  the  building  be- 
came too  small  for  the  congregations.  The  trustees 
authorized  the  pastor  to  dispose  of  the  church, 
and  the  next  week  I  sold  it  to  the  School  Board 
of  the  city  for  a  school-house.  We  then  built  a 
frame  building  on  M  Street,  on  the  lots  given  by 
the  State  to  the  Church.  This  building  was  after- 
wards enlarged.  In  this  the  congregation  wor- 
shiped for  a  number  of  years.     Finally  it  gave 


LINCOLN.  229 

way  to  the  present  elegant  and  massive  church, 
known  as  "Saint  Paul."  The  city  grew  rapidly 
from  the  beginning,  and  the  Church  kept  pace 
with  the  material  development  of  the  city.  Other 
denominations  organized  societies.  Earnest,  faith- 
ful pastors  led  on  these  societies,  and  soon  good 
houses  of  worship  were  erected ;  and  to-day  the 
Presbyterians,  Congregationalists,  Baptists,  Epis- 
copalians, Christians,  and  Roman  Catholics,  all 
have  elegant  churches — churches  that  would  be 
an  honor  and  a  credit  to  any  city  of  the  land. 
The  membership  of  our  Church  increased  very 
rapidly,  and  soon  we  had  a  large  society  of  intel- 
ligent, live,  working  members. 

Among  the  first  members  were  Simon  C. 
Elliott,  James  Kimball  and  wife,  A.  K.  White 
and  wife,  John  Cadman  and  wife,  J.  Schoolcraft 
and  wife,  C.  N.  Baird  and  wife,  A.  J.  Cropsey 
and  wife,  Mrs.  W.  Lamb,  Mrs.  Metcalf,  Dr.  Strick- 
land and  wife,  and  E.  G.  Coldwell  and  wife.  That 
little  handful  has  multiplied  until,  instead  of  one 
small  church,  there  are  seven,  and  the  city  has 
grown  from  a  population  of  two  hundred  to  near 
sixty  thousand  souls. 

Though  the  beginnings  were  not  very  propi- 
tious, and  the  outlook  was  anything  but  flattering, 
yet  the  longer  we  remained  the  better  pleased  we 
became.    We  left  the  charge  at  the  end  of  three 


230         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAI), 

years  with  a  membership  of  two  hundred  and  two, 
and  never  had  the  privilege  of  serving  a  more 
pleasant  people. 

Lincoln  is  not  only  a  city  of  commerce  and 
of  Churches,  but  a  city  of  education.  Here  is 
located  the  State  University,  the  Nebraska  Wes- 
leyan  University,  the  Christian  University,  the 
Second  Advent  University,  and  other  denom- 
inations are  looking  to  Lincoln  as  the  place 
to  locate  their  universities.  Here,  where  only 
thirty  years  ago  the  antelope  gamboled,  the  buf- 
falo roamed,  the  coyote  barked,  and  the  war-cry 
of  the  wild  savage  resounded,  stands  a  great 
city — the  railroad  center,  the  educational  center, 
and  the  religious  center  of  a  great  and  powerful 
State.  Prophecy  is  fulfilled.  The  desert  rejoices 
and  blossoms  as  the  rose. 


ONE  OF  THE  EARLY  PIONEEES.          231 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ONE  OP  THE  EARIvY  PIONEERS. 

Rev.  Z.  B.  Tubman  the  First  Peeacher  in  Lancaster 
County — Salt  Creek  Circuit — Great  Revival — 
Coon-meat — Preaching  to  "Spotted  Horse"  and 
HIS  Warriors — The  Captive  Squaw  and  her  Sad 
Fate — A  Mush-and-milk  Tea — Indian  Troubles — 
The  New  Ulm  Massacre. 

AS  Rev.  Z.  B.  Turman  was  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  early  history  of  Lancaster 
County,  and  not  only  with  the  county,  but  the 
early  history  of  the  Territory  as  well,  it  seems 
eminently  fitting  that  I  should  speak  more  fully 
with  regard  to  him  and  his  labors.  There  were 
many  thrilling  events  connected  with  the  early 
history  of  Brother  Turman's  work  in  Nebraska 
which  can  but  be  of  very  great  interest  and  profit 
to  the  reader.  At  the  second  session  of  the 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  Conference,  in  1857,  the 
Salt  Creek  Mission  was  formed,  and  Zenas  B. 
Turman  was  appointed  preacher  in  charge.  The 
first  sermon  ever  preached  in  the  county  of  Lan- 
caster was  by  Brother  Turman.  This  was  in 
1857,  and  in  the  private  house  of  James  Eather- 
ton,  some  twelve  miles  south  of  where  the  city  of 


232  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Lincoln  now  stands.  The  same  year  he  preached 
the  first  sermon  ever  preached  on  the  present  site 
of  Lincoln.  Salt  Creek  Mission  embraced  seven 
counties,  and  Brother  Turman  established  sixteen 
preaching-places.  The  settlements  were  sparse, 
and  confined  to  the  streams,  and  the  distance 
from  one  to  the  other  was  often  very  great. 
Over  these  prairies,  under  the  burning  rays  of 
the  summer  sun,  and  the  fierce  winds,  blinding 
storms,  and  terrible  winter  blizzards,  Brother 
Turman  rode  from  settlement  to  settlement,  and 
calling  the  people  together  in  their  rude  dwell- 
ings, proclaimed  to  them  the  Word  of  life.  All 
over  this  part  of  the  State  we  see  to-day  the 
grand  results  of  the  sacrifices  and  toils  of  this 
noble  man  of  God.  The  Church  planted  by  him 
has  arisen  in  beauty,  grandeur,  and  glory,  and 
we  now  enjoy  its  sacred  privileges. 

I  have  been  intimately  acquainted  with 
Brother  Turman  for  thirty  years,  and  I  have 
often  heard  him  tell  of  his  work  in  the  State  in 
an  early  day ;  but  never  have  I  heard  a  mur- 
mur escape  from  his  lips.  He  has  always  been 
a  genial,  uncomplaining,  happy,  sunny-hearted 
minister  of  the  gospel. 

The  winter  of  1858  witnessed  one  of  the  most 
powerful  revivals  of  religion  under  his  labors, 
near  where  Louisville  now  stands,  that  was  ever 
known    in    that    region    of    the    country.      The 


ONE  OF  THE  EARLY  PIONEERS.         233 

singing,  praying,  and  rejoicing  could  be  heard 
for  miles  away.  The  people  said,  "  The  only  rea- 
son why  there  were  not  more  converted,  was  be- 
cause there  were  no  more  people  to  convert.^' 
The  revival  swept  the  entire  community  into  the 
Church — men,  women,  and  children.  DucJng 
this  revival,  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  J.  B. 
Ford  was  most  wonderfully  saved.  Brother  Tur- 
man  said  of  him :  "He  was  the  most  powerful 
man  in  prayer  I  ever  heard  in  my  life.  His  ap- 
peals to  the  Father  of  all  mercies  were  clothed 
in  such  eloquent  and  powerful  strains,  that  it 
seemed  heaven  and  earth  were  coming  together.'^ 
At  the  following  quarterly  meeting  Brother  Ford 
was  licensed  to  preach,  and  soon  after  left  the 
State  and  returned  to  the  East.  What  the  future 
history  of  that  promising  young  man  was  we 
know  not.  For  aught  we  know,  he  may  to-day 
be  upon  the  walls  of  Zion,  preaching  the  "  ever- 
lasting gospel."  Waves  of  hallowed  influence 
were  started  at  that  meeting  that  have  been 
widening  and  rolling  on  ever  since,  and  will 
continue  to  go  on  widening  their  circles  and  roll- 
ing on  forever.  "  The  good  men  do,  lives  after 
them."  It  never  dies.  It  lives  and  moves, 
and  its  power  is  felt  through  all  the  ages.  By 
our  words  and  looks  and  acts,  we  may  send  out 
an  influence  that  will  tell  upon  the  happiness  of 

men  forever. 

20 


234  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

During  this  winter  there  was  no  grain,  and 
"  Jack/'  Brother  Turman's  horse,  had  to  eat  po- 
tatoes. These  he  learned  to  eat  with  a  relish, 
and  he  did  nicely.  At  one  time  *'  Jack "  was 
offered  some  old  corn.  It  was  so  poor  and  musty, 
hoover,  that  he  refused  to  eat  it.  Brother  Tur- 
man  ate  bread  made  from  the  same  lot  of  corn 
without  making  any  complaints  or  asking  any 
questions.  In  speaking  of  this,  he  once  said  to 
the  writer :  "  We  have  reason  ;  horses  have  not. 
We  eat  to  satisfy  hunger ;  horses,  to  suit  their 
taste.  We  have  souls ;  they  have  not.  We 
ought  to  take  the  better  care  of  their  bodies.'' 
Not  only  did  the  stock  fare  hard  during  that 
winter  in  consequence  of  the  scarcity  of  grain, 
but  the  people  fared  hard  as  well.  Their  tables 
did  not  groan  under  the  w^eight  of  sweetmeats 
and  delicious  viands.  Their  fare  was  plain  but 
substantial,  and  such  as  the  people  had  they 
freely  gave  to  their  pastor.  The  good  people  in- 
vited him  to  sit  with  them  at  their  tables,  and 
often  the  only  meat  they  had  w^as  raccoon. 
Whether  he  really  relished  the  raccoon  or  not,  I 
do  not  know.  I  am  inclined  to  think  he  felt  a 
little  as  the  man  did  who  was  asked,  after  having 
taken  a  meal  on  'coon,  "Do  you  like  it?"  He 
replied:  "I  can  eat  it,  but  I  do  not  hanker  after 
it."  Chickens  were  scarce.  He  never  got  any 
of  these  birds.     They  went  to  the  more  highly- 


ONE  OF  THE  EARLY  PIONEERS.         235 

favored    ministers,    who    labored    among    more 
highly-favored  people. 

During  this  winter  he  received  a  request  from 
"  Spotted  Horse/'  a  chief  among  the  Pawnee  In- 
dians, to  go  and  preach  to  him  and  his  people. 
Brother  Turman  obeyed  the  call,  went  out  and 
met  the  chief,  with  his  warriors,  at  their  reserva- 
tion on  the  south  side  of  the  Platte  River,  just 
opposite  Fremont.  He  preached  the  gospel  to 
these  Red-men  of  the  plains.  He  told  them  of 
God's  infinite  love  in  the  gift  of  his  Son.  He 
told  them  the  wonderful  story  of  the  incarnation ; 
how  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  came  down  into  this 
world ;  suifered ;  was  crucified ;  died,  and  was 
buried;  and  on  the  third  day  rose  from  the 
grave,  and  ascended  up  into  heaven !  He  told 
them  of  the  tragedy  of  Calvary,  and  its  attend- 
ant phenomena ;  how  the  rocks  rent,  the  earth 
quaked,  the  sun  veiled  his  face  and  refused  to 
look  upon  the  awful  scene ;  how  the  graves 
opened,  and  the  dead  came  forth !  He  told  them 
that  Jesus  suffered  all  this  in  order  that  they,  as 
well  as  the  white  men,  might  be  saved.  They 
listened  with  the  greatest  interest  aud  the  most 
rapt  attention,  and  treated  Brother  Turman  with 
the  highest  respect  and  the  most  profound  rev- 
erence. The  chief  and  all  his  warriors  kneeled 
down  during  prayer,  and  looked  upon  the  min- 
ister as  a  messenger  from  the  skies.     'After  the 


236  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

services  were  over,  '^Spotted  Horse''  said:  "We 
believe  every  word  you  say.  Our  forefathers 
had  the  ^  Great  Book '  [referring  to  the  Bible], 
but  lost  it/'  Spotted  Horse  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  mind  for  an  Indian,  but  remained 
a  savage  and  died  the  same. 

Brother  Turraan  was  never  maltreated  by  the 
Indians,  although  he  very  frequently  met  them, 
and  often  preached  to  them.  But  on  this  occa- 
sion he  was  very  uneasy,  and  not  a  little  fearful, 
not  that  they  would  do  him  personal  violence,  but 
that  they  would  take  all  his  clothing  from  him, 
and  that  he  would  be  compelled  to  return  to  the 
settlements  in  a  nude  condition.  This  they  had 
done  with  others,  and  he  greatly  feared  he  would 
suffer  the  same  fate.  They  eyed  him  very  closely, 
and  with  the  greatest  curiosity  examined  all  his 
clothing.  He  was  finally  greatly  relieved,  hoAV- 
ever,  by  getting  away  with  only  the  loss  of  his 
black  cravat. 

At  one  time,  while  visiting  their  reservation, 
he  saw  a  young  squaw  whom  they  had  taken  cap- 
tive. She  was  a  Sioux,  and  had  been  taken  cap- 
tive by  the  Pawnees  in  one  of  their  raids.  The 
Sioux  and  Pawnees  were  bitter  enemies,  and  were 
at  war  with  each  other.  It  was  the  custom  of 
the  Pawnees,  when  an  Indian  squaw  was  taken 
prisoner,  to  give  her  to  any  one  of  their  men 
who  might   desire   her   for  his  wife.     If  no  one 


ONE  OF  THE  EARLY  PIONEERS.  237 

desired  her,  then  their  barbarous  custom  was  to 
put  her  to  death.  In  this  case  no  one  desired 
the  young  and  handsome  Sioux  squaw  for  a  wife. 
The  poor  captive  was  in  the  greatest  agony.  She 
knew  very  well  what  the  terrible  result  would 
be.  Brother  Turman  could  do  nothing.  He  did 
not  dare  interfere.  A  band  of  the  Indians  started 
to  the  grove  near  by  with  their  victim,  the  poor 
captive  weeping  most  bitterly  as  they  disappeared. 
Soon  after  the  Indians  returned,  but  the  girl  was 
not  with  them.  All  was  quiet.  Not  a  word  was 
spoken.  The  silence  of  death  reigned  throughout 
the  Indian  village.  All  knew  the  fate  of  the 
young  and  beautiful  captive.  She  had  paid  the 
penalty  of  her  captivity. 

Such  is  life  among  the  wild  savages.  How 
much  they  need  the  gospel !  How  long  will  it 
be  ere  the  barbarous  tribes  of  our  world  shall  be 
lifted  from  their  barbarity,  and  made  the  happy 
recipients  of  the  refining,  purifying,  and  elevat- 
ing effects  of  the  gospel  ?  "  How  long,  O  Lord, 
how  long?'' 

Along  the  valley  of  the  Great  Platte,  up  and 
down  Salt  Creek,  the  Blue,  the  Nemaha,  Weep- 
ing Water,  Walnut  Creek,  and  Wahoo,  Brother 
Turman  first  blew  the  gospel-trumpet.  Along 
all  these  streams,  and  over  the  hills  and  plains 
of  this  vast  region,  he  sowed  the  seed  of  gospel 
truth,  and  the  seed  sowed  by   him  in  that  early 


238  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

day  Mas  like  a  "baudful  of  corn  in  the  earth  on 
the  top  of  the  mountains;  the  fruit  thereof  shakes 
like  Lebanon."  He  saw  the  stately  elk,  the 
agile  antelope,  the  fierce  coyote,  the  mighty  buf- 
falo, roaming  over  the  wild  prairies  where  the 
marvelous  cities  of  Lincoln  and  Beatrice  now 
stand. 

The  first  Methodist  class  in  Lancaster 
County  was  organized  in  Brother  Eatherton's 
house  in  1857.  At  that  time  Brother  Eatherton 
said  to  Brother  Turman  :  ^^  Do  you  think  this 
country  will  ever  be  settled  up  ?"  Brother  Tur- 
man replied:  "Not  till  the  next  comet  strikes 
the  earth. '^  They  imagined  that  ages  would  pass 
before  this  country  would  amount  to  anything  at 
all.  Many  had  serious  doubts  whether  their 
farms  were  worth  the  Government  price — one 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre.  But  a 
wonderful  change  soon  came  over  their  dreams. 
This  supposed  worthless  country  has  become  one 
of  the  garden-spots  of  the  earth. 

In  1859,  Brother  Turman  was  appointed  to 
the  Fontenelle  Circuit.  Here  he  found  three 
men  professing  to  be  heralds  of  the  cross,  who 
believed  that  God  from  all  eternity  had  foreor- 
dained whatsoever  comes  to  pass.  When  they 
told  him  their  belief,  he  said  :  "  The  cold  tremors 
ran  over  me." 

Soon  after  reaching  Fontenelle,  having  fully 


ONE  OF  THE  EARLY  PIONEERS.  239 

taken  in  the  situation,  he  felt  deeply  impressed 
that  a  revival  of  religion  was  greatly  needed. 
He  sent  for  Brother  L.  W.  Smith,  of  Fremont, 
to  come  and  assist  him  in  a  protracted  effort. 
The  meeting  began  with  considerable  interest. 
The  Calvinists  were  present  and  took  part  in  the 
services.  Brother  Turman  was  compelled,  by 
ministerial  courtesy,  to  treat  them  as  co-laborers 
in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  This  was  very  hard 
for  Brother  Turman  to  do,  and  Brother  Smith 
as  well,  after  these  Calvinists  had  proclaimed  their 
belief  in  the  "  horrible  decrees.^^ 

At  an  experience  meeting  one  of  these  min- 
isters gave  in  his  testimony.  He  said  :  "  I  never 
was  converted  right  out  like  many  others;  but 
my  mother  was  a  pious  woman,  and  I  naturally 
grew  up  into  a  pious  state.'^  Brother  Turman 
thought  religion  was  a  work  of  grace,  not  of  na- 
ture, and  that  men  were  converted  by  the  power 
of  God,  and  not  by  natural  growth. 

One  of  the  ministers  of  the  village  invited 
them  to  tea.  They  gladly  accepted  the  invita- 
tion, but  when  they  sat  down  at  the  supper-table 
they  were  not  a  little  surprised  to  find  mush  and 
milk  instead  of  tea.  Brother  Turman  was  very 
much  disappointed.  He  had  his  heart  set  on  an 
excellent  supper,  and,  as  he  never  liked  mush  and 
milk,  to  be  compelled  to  eat  what  he  had  no 
relish  for  at  all,  was  really  an  affliction. 


240  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

At  this  time  there  Avere  serious  troubles  with 
the  Indians.  They  had  committed  various  dep- 
redations against  the  whites,  and  the  settlers 
were  constantly  harassed  by  these  marauding 
bands.  On  the  south  side  of  the  Platte  River, 
just  opposite  Fremont,  stood  a  village  of  some 
four  thousand  Pawnees.  In  July,  1859,  the 
Sioux  came  down  in  a  body,  attacked  and  com- 
pletely routed  them.  The  Pawnees  fled  from 
their  foes,  crossed  the  Platte,  and  passed  up  the 
Elkhorn  River.  Along  this  stream  were  a  few 
settlers,  and  they  were  in  the  bounds  of  Brother 
Turman's  circuit.  As  the  Indians  passed  up  the 
river  they  killed  and  drove  away  the  settlers' 
stock,  plundered  their  houses,  killed  some  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  committed  many  other  depre- 
dations. 

At  the  hour  of  midnight  these  outraged  peo- 
ple reached  Fontenelle,  hungry,  weary,  and  air 
most  frightened  to  death.  They  told  the  sad 
story  of  the  violence  received  from  the  Indians. 
The  next  morning  the  citizens  of  Fontenelle, 
sixty  in  number,  armed  themselves  as  best  they 
could,  and  on  horseback  started  in  pursuit  of  the 
murderous  savages.  Brother  Turman,  fully  be- 
lieving the  Savior's  words,  "  They  that  take  the 
sword  shall  perish  with  the  sword,"  joined  the 
company,  and  aided  in  bringing  to  justice  the 
bloodthirsty  criminals.      They  followed   the  In- 


ONE  OF  THE  EARLY  PIONEERS.  241 

dians  to  a  point  some  five  miles  north  of  where 
West  Point  now  stands,  and  here  they  found  a 
house  belonging  to  a  Mormon,  in  which  w^ere  a 
number  of  Indians.  Whether  or  not  the  Mor- 
mon aided  the  savages  in  their  dastardly  work  is 
not  known.  They  immediately  surrounded  the 
house;  the  Indians  rushed  out,  and  firing  on  the 
whites,  wounded  one  of  them  in  the  arm.  The 
whites  returned  the  fire,  and  in  the  skirmish 
succeeded  in  taking  one  of  the  Indians  a  pris- 
oner. With  him  they  started  back  to  Fontenclle. 
Passing  near  the  bank  of  the  Elkhorn,  the  boys 
not  watching  their  prisoner  very  closely,  he  leaped 
into  the  stream,  and  diving,  swam  for  some  dis- 
tance under  the  water,  then  arose,  and,  reaching 
the  opposite  bank,  made  his  escape. 

Great  excitement  prevailed,  and  it  was  gen- 
erally believed  that  the  Pawnees  would  at  once 
begin  a  war  of  extermination  against  the  frontier 
settlements.  Governor  Black  was  notified,  and  at 
the  head  of  an  expedition,  composed  of  infantry, 
cavalry,  and  artillery,  started  in  pursuit  of  the  In- 
dians. When  he  reached  Fontenelle,  Brother  Tur- 
man  entered  the  expedition  as  chaplain.  Some 
distance  beyond  West  Point  the  Indians  were 
overtaken,  and  Governor  Black  demanded  of 
Spotted  Horse,  the  chief,  why  he  had  been  dis- 
turbing* the  settlers.  His  reply  was:  ''My  war- 
riors will  not  obey  me.'^  A  parley  ensued,  and  he 
21 


242  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

was  finally  given  the  choice,  eithfer  to  give  up  the 
braves  who  had  committed  the  depredations,  and 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  expedition  out  of  the 
moneys  then  due  his  people  from  the  Govern- 
ment, or  to  fight.  He  chose  the  former,  sur- 
rendered seven  braves,  and  signed  an  agreement 
authorizing  the  keeping  back  certain  moneys  be- 
longing to  them  from  the  Government.  All  but 
one  of  the  braves  surrendered  made  their  escape. 
The  expedition  returned,  and  the  troops  were  dis- 
banded, and  the  Government  paid  the  Indians  all 
that  was  due  them,  leaving  the  expedition  to  pay 
its  own  expenses;  the  Indians  thus  faring  better 
at  the  hands  of  the  Government  than  the  whites. 
This  was  the  end  of  what  was  called  the  "  Paw- 
nee war." 

In  1862,  Brother  Turman  traveled  the  Dakota 
Circuit.  During  this  year  what  was  known  as 
the  New  Ulm  Massacre  took  place,  in  which  nine 
hundred  whites  Avere  wantonly  and  in  the  most 
cruel  manner  put  to  death.  Many  of  them  were 
impaled  on  sharp  stakes  by  the  inhuman  savages, 
and  left  to  die  a  lingering  and  most  painful  death. 

While  on  this  circuit  he  received  into  the  Church 
Brother  and  Sister  Wiseman,  and  at  their  home  in 
Cedar  County  preached  the  gospel.  Brother  and 
Sister  Wiseman  were  called  to  suifer  what  but 
few  in  this  world  are  called  to  suffer.  During 
the  Indian    troubles  in   1863,  Brother  Wiseman 


ONE  OF  THE  EARLY  PIONEERS.         243 

and  Brother  Turman  joined  General  Sully^s  com- 
mand, with  other  citizens  of  the  county,  and  while 
they  were  absent  and  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians, 
Mrs.  Wiseman  went  to  Yankton,  a  few  miles 
away.  While  away,  the  Indians  attacked  their 
children,  and  killed  them  all — six  in  number. 
Four  were  killed  outright,  the  older  one  being  a 
boy  seventeen  years  old.  They  had  evidently 
done  noble  battle  in  defense  of  their  sister  and 
brothers.  Nancy,  fifteen  years  old,  lived  three 
days,  but  never  spoke.  Her  body  had  suffered 
the  most  brutal  outrages  from  the  bloodthirsty 
savages.  The  youngest  of  the  family,  a  little 
five-year  old  boy,  lay  on  the  bed  disemboweled, 
and  when  his  mother  came  in  he  said  to  her, 
"Indians  did  it,^'  and  died. 

Such  were  some  of  the  thrilling  scenes  through 
which  Brother  Turman  passed  during  the  early 
settlement  of  the  State,  in  laying  the  foundations 
of  the  Church. 


244         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

DISTRICT  INCIDENTS. 

Eleventh  Nebraska  Conference — Bishop  Ames — Old 
Sermons — U.  P.  R.  R.  completed — Rapid  Growth 
OF  THE  Church — Hastings — Overtaken  in  a  Fearful 
Storm — Three  Memorable  Quarterly  Meetings — 
Sad  Death  of  a  Worldling —  The  Dutchman's 
Curse — The  Confused  Hostess  —  No  Desire  to 
Dance. 

THE  eleventh  session  of  the  Nebraska  Annual 
Conference  was  held  in  Lincoln,  beginning 
March  29,  1871.  Bishop  Ames  presided.  This 
was  his  fourth  visit  to  Nebraska.  Being  person- 
ally acquainted  with  many  of  the  preachers,  he 
received  a  cordial  welcome.  His  sermon  on  Sab- 
bath morning  was  a  masterpiece.  His  text  was 
Rev.  xix,  10 :  "  The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit 
of  prophecy."  » 

A  few  months  afterwards  he  preached  the  same 
sermon  in  Washington.  A  correspondent  of  the 
Central  Christian  Advocate,  in  writing  to  that 
paper  said  in  substance  :  "  I  heard  Bishop  Ames 
.preach  this  sermon  in  St.  Louis  thirty  years  ago. 
It  was  delivered  yesterday  with  the  same  power, 
the  same   fire,  and  the   same  wonderful  effect  it 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  245 

was  thirty  years  previously/^  Age  and  use  bad 
done  it  no  harm,  but  had  rather  sharpened  its 
edge  and  increased  its  force  and  power.  A  ser- 
mon need  be  none  the  less  efficient,  elegant,  and 
powerful  because  of  age.  A  faithful  minister 
may  lop  off,  add  to,  and  retouch  an  old  ser- 
mon until  it  will  sparkle  and  flame  with  beauty 
and  power.  I  think  it  was  Whitefield  who  said 
he  had  to  preach  a  sermon  the  thirtieth  time  be- 
fore he  could  preach  it  perfectly.  A  minister 
ought  not  to  preach  an  old  sermon  unless  he 
makes  it  better  every  time  he  delivers  it;  then 
every  time  it  will  be  new. 

General  Sheridan  made  a  little  speech  in  Lon- 
don that  electrified  the  world.  All  at  the  time 
thought  it  impromptu.  It  was  published  and 
commented  upon  by  many  of  the  papers  of  Eu- 
rope and  America.  It  was  afterwards  ascer- 
tained, however,  that  it  had  been  carefully  written 
and  rewritten,  touched  and  retouched,  until  every 
sentence  was  a  polished  gem.  Then  it  was  per- 
fectly committed  to  memory,  and  at  the  proper 
time  delivered  with  overwhelming  effect. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  famed  speech  at  Gettysburg 
was  thought  by  some  to  be  impromptu.  It  is  said 
that  just  before  reaching  Gettysburg  he  took  a  slip 
of  paper  and  jotted  down  the  notes  for  it.  But, 
without  doubt',  previously  every  sentence  had  been 
carefully  thought  out,  and  every  word  weighed. 


246  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

The  speech  was  brief,  but  every  sentence  was  a 
diamond  of  the  first  water.  Splendid  productions 
are  the  result  of  deep  thought  and  hard  labor. 
A  splendid  sermon,  carefully  and  prayerfully  pre- 
pared, may  be  repeated  a  hundred  times,  before 
new  audiences,  with  increasing  rather  than  di- 
minishing power. 

The  three  years  preceding  1871  were  years  of 
great  prosperity  in  the  young  State. 

One  of  the  great  events  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  the  completion  of  the  Union  Pacific 
and  Central  Pacific  Railroads.  This  wonderful 
event  took  place  May  10,  1869.  ''On  that  day 
two  oceans  were  united,  a  continent  was  spanned 
with  iron  bands,  and  a  revolution  was  accom- 
plished in  the  commerce  of  the  world.  California 
shook  hands  with  New  York,  and  the  mingled 
screams  of  steam-whistles  upon  engines  constructed 
three  thousand  miles  distant  waked  the  echoes  of 
the  mountains." 

No  State  in  the  Union  shared  more  largely  the 
grand  results  of  that  most  wonderful  achievement 
than  Nebraska.  This  great  highway  of  the  Nation 
runs  through  the  entire,  length  of  the  State  from 
east  to  west,  a  distance  of  over  four  hundred 
miles.  Along  this  public  highway,  up  the  great 
valley  of  the  Platte,  thousands  of  emigrants  came 
to  settle  and  make  their  permanent  homes.  The 
admission  of  Nebraska  as  a  State  into  the  Union, 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  247 

and  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
gave  to  it  a  new  and  wonderful  impetus. 

The  Burlington  and  Missouri  River  Railroad 
was  pushing  its  way  to  the  West.  Emigration 
was  pouring  in  from  the  East.  The  Church  was 
*'  enlarging  the  place  of  her  tents,  stretching  forth 
her  curtains,  lengthening  her  cords,  and  strength- 
ening her  stakes.'^  Everywhere  Churches  were 
springing  up  and  growing  most  rapidly. 

Bishop  Ames,  being  a  Western  man,  readily 
took  in  the  situation,  and  planned  the  work  ac- 
cordingly. 

In  1870  there  were  three  districts  and  forty 
stations  and  circuits.  This  year  the  bishop  made 
five  districts  and  fifty-nine  stations  and  circuits, 
an  increase  of  two  districts  and  nineteen  stations 
and  circuits  over  last  year.  I  was  appointed  pre- 
siding elder  of  the  Lincoln  District,  which  em- 
braced the  counties  of  Lancaster,  Cass,  Polk, 
Hamilton,  Adams,  Clay,  and  Fillmore,  the  eastern 
half  and  northern  part  of  Seward,  the  west  half 
of  Otoe,  and  all  of  Saunders  and  Butler  Counties, 
except  a  few  appointments  in  the  northern  part 
of  these  counties,  including  an  area  of  about  five 
thousand  miles.  My  first  district,  in  1861,  em- 
braced all  the  territory  south  of  the  Platte  River  ; 
my  new  district  was  only  about  one-fifth  as  large 
as  my  first. 

In  addition  to  the  twelve  appointments  assigned 


248         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

me  at  the  Conference,  Bishop  Ames  requested  me 
to  superintend  the  work  on  the  line  of  the  Bur- 
lington and  Missouri  River  Railroad  as  far  west  as 
Fort  Kearney,  and  organize  and  supply  the  work 
as  fast  as  the  necessities  of  the  case  might  demand. 
The  western  terminus  of  the  Burlington  and  Mis- 
souri River  Railroad  at  this  time  was  Fairmont.  I 
immediately  employed  Rev.  George  W.  Gue,  trans- 
ferred from  the  Central  Illinois  Conference,  to  go 
into  Fillmore  County  and  organize  a  circuit.  He 
went  to  work,  visiting  the  people,  and  preaching  to 
them  in  their  cabins,  sod-houses,  "  dug-outs,"  and 
tents,  and  succeeded  in  organizing  several  classes, 
receiving  into  the  Church  ninety-nine  members. 
There  were  no  towns  west  of  Fairmont,  south 
of  the  Platte  River.  The  place  where  Hastings 
now  stands  was  then  an  untrodden  prairie,  save 
by  the  Indians  and  wild  animals  that  roamed  the 
plains.  That  year  Walter  Micklen  homesteaded 
the  quarter-section  of  land  on  Avhich  a  part  of  the 
city  of  Hastings  now  stands.  It  seems  almost 
incredible,  nevertheless  it  is  true  that,  only  twenty 
years  ago,  the  land  now  occupied  by  the  city  of 
Hastings  belonged  to  the  Government,  and  the 
thought  of  a  city  being  built  there  had  never  en- 
tered the  mind  of  a  living  soul.  Where  only 
twenty  years  ago  nothing  was  seen  growing  but 
the  wild  prairie-grass,  and  the  beautiful  prairie- 
flowers,  and  the  only  inhabitants  were  the  savage 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  249 

Red-men  and  the  wild  beasts,  to-day  stands  a  great 
city,  which  is  one  of  the  great  railroad  centers 
of  the  State,  and  which  is  destined  to  go  on  in- 
creasing in  wealth  and  population  for  all  time. 
Hastings  has  had  a  marvelous  growth.  Her 
future  brightens  every  year. 

Three  new  charges  were  organized  during  the 
year,  and  there  was  a  net  increase  in  the  mem- 
bership of  eight  hundred  and  forty-three.  In  my 
report  to  the  Conference  at  the  close  of  the  year 
I  said  :  "  At  Fairmont,  nine  months  ago,  there 
was  not  a  single  house ;  nothing  but  the  wild, 
unbroken  prairie,  stretching  away  in  every  direc- 
tion, as  far  as  vision  could  extend.  Now  these 
prairies  are  dotted  all  over  with  houses;  large 
farms  have  been  opened,  thousands  of  acres  have 
been  broken  and  prepared  for  crops  this  season. 
Fairmont  was  then  nothing  but  a  grassy  plain ; 
now  it  is  a  thriving  village  with  five  stores,  a 
large  hotel,  a  beautiful  church,  with  a  live  and 
intelligent  membership.  As  I  have  traveled  over 
these  counties,  and  looked  upon  this  beautiful  and 
most  delightful  country,  with  its  broad  and  undu- 
lating prairies,  its  many  winding  streams,  skirted 
with  timber,  meandering  in  every  direction ;  with 
its  deep  black  soil,  unsurpassed  in  richness;  as  I 
have  mingled  with  the  settlers  in  their  rude  dwell- 
ings, and  partaken  of  their  hospitalities,  in  the 
cabin,   the   sod-house,  and   the  '  dug-out  f    as  I 


250  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

have  conversed  with  them  u])od  their  present  and 
future  prospects ;  as  I  have  heard  them  tell  of 
the  many  friends  away  back  in  Eastern  States  that 
were  soon  coming  to  join  them  in  their  Western 
homes,  it  has  seemed  that  I  could  almost  hear 
'the  tramp  of  the  coming  millions/  and  see 
villages  and  cities  rising  in  every  direction,  and 
farms  crowning  every  hillside  and  beautifying 
every  valley ;  and  then,  as  I  have  thought  of  the 
great  work  for  the  Church  to  accomplish  in  this 
new  land,  I  have  involuntarily  exclaimed,  '  Who 
is  sufficient  for  these  things?^  We  tremble  w^hen 
we  think  of  the  responsibilities  resting  upon  us 
as  God's  servants.  Here  must  be  laid  deep  and 
broad  the  foundations  of  our  Zion.  This  country 
must  be  given  to  God.  These  'coming  millions' 
must  be  won  to  Christ.  These  villages  and  cities 
must  be  crowded  with  churches.  God's  people 
must  breast  the  waves  of  wickedness  flow^ing  into 
these  cities,  villages,  and  rural  districts.  The  re- 
ligious element  must  keep  pace  with  the  material 
development  of  the  State,  or  we  as  a  Church  will 
be  culpable,  and  on  our  skirts  the  blood  of  im- 
mortal souls,  at  the  judgment  day,  will  be  found. 
I  have  held  meetings  in  the  beautiful  church,  in 
the  tented  grove,  in  the  frame  and  sod  school- 
house,  in  private  dwellings  built  of  sod,  and  in 
the  'dug-out,'  and  in  all  these  places  of  worship — 
some  of  them  rude  sanctuaries  indeed — and  have 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.       ^  251 

witnessed  the  most  signal  displays  of  divine  power 

in  the  conversion  of  souls.    And  the  many  happy 

meetings  we  have  had  in  these  places  of  worship 

will  never  be  erased  from  memory.     I  have  been 

forcibly  reminded  of  the  fact  that  happiness  comes 

not  from  surroundings,  but  from  within,  and  have 

changed  that  couplet  a  little,  and  sung, 

*  Sod-houses  palaces  prove, 
If  Jesus  dwells  with  us  there.' " 

Many  interesting  events  took  place  while  I 
was  traveling  this  district. 

On  June  10,  1871,  I  left  home  and  started  for 
my  quarterly  meeting  on  the  Seward  Circuit. 
About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  I  was  over- 
taken by  the  heaviest  rain  and  hail  storm  of  the 
season.  I  was  on  the  open  prairie  and  miles  from 
any  house,  and  wholly  unprotected  from  the  storm. 
The  only  thing  for  me  to  do  was  to  make  the  best 
of  it — ^^grin  and  bear  it.''  I  was  completely 
drenched  with  the  rain,  and  severely  pelted  with 
the  hail.  My  poor  ponies  seemed  to  suffer  more 
than  I  did  myself  from  the  violence  of  the  storm. 
They  held  their  heads  down  between  their  forelegs, 
doubled  themselves  up,  turned  from  one  side  of  the 
road  to  the  other,  and  at  one  time  stood  stock-still, 
and  my  whalebone  whip  was  powerless  to  make 
them  move  an  inch.  Providentially,  the  hail  lasted 
only  a  few  moments,  or  we  should  all  have  per- 
ished.   At  Lincoln  great  damage  was  done.    Cul- 


252  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

verts  were  washed  away,  cellars  flooded,  houses 
unroofed,  and  goods  and  property  damaged  to  the 
amount  of  many  thousand  dollars.  The  storm 
passed,  the  clouds  broke  away,  and  the  sun  came 
forth  shining  more  brightly  than  ever.  Just  at 
dark  we  reached  Seward,  covered  with  mud,  wet 
to  the  skin,  sore  from  the  pelting  hail,  and  in 
miserable  plight  generally.  I  stopped  over  night 
with  my  old  friend,  Brother  Davis.  The  next 
morning  I  weui  fifteen  miles  northwest,  up  Lincoln 
Creek,  to  where  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  to  be 
held.  The  meeting  was  in  a  sod  school-house. 
The  w^alls  were  of  sod,  two  feet  thick ;  the  roof 
Avas  of  plank  laid  on  rafters.  In  the  fall  the  planks 
were  covered  with  sod,  to  keep  out  the  cold.  In 
this  rude  house,  at  the  appointed  hour,  the  people 
assembled,  and  God  came  with  them. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  Ohio  and  Indiana, 
the  people  lived  in  log  cabins,  with  floors  made 
of  puncheon.  But  here,  on  the  prairies  of  Ne- 
braska, the  early  pioneers  lived  and  worshiped 
God  in  houses  made  of  sod — built  entirely  of  the 
turf,  from  foundation  to  roof.  Along  the  streams, 
where  logs  could  be  procured,  there  were  a  few 
cabins. 

At  two  o'clock  I  preached  to  a  most  devout 
and  attentive  congregation,  held  Quarterly  Con- 
ference, and  then,  in  company  with  the  pastor. 
Brother  Burlingame,  went  to  Brother  Reynolds's, 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  253 

one  of  the  stewards,  to  stay  over  night.  The 
house  was  small.  It  had  but  one  room,  which 
served  as  parlor,  dining-room,  kitchen,  and  bed- 
room. About  four  rods  from  the  house  I  discov- 
ered a  new  building,  made  of  logs,  seven  feet 
square  and  five  feet  high.  In  this  strange  build- 
ing was  a  door  three  feet  high  and  about  two  and 
a  half  feet  wide.  I  wondered  what  it  was  for. 
1  said  to  myself,  ''It  must  be  a  chicken-house." 
Supper  over,  the  hour  for  retiring  came,  and  after 
the  evening  prayer  I  was  conducted  to  the  seven 
by  seven  building.  Stooping,  I  entered  the  little 
door  and  found  a  comfortable  bed,  with  clean, 
snow-white  sheets.  Here  the  presiding  elder  was 
stowed  away,  and  slept  soundly  till  morning. 
When  I  awoke,  the  sun  was  pouring  his  mild 
genial  rays  through  the  wide  cracks  between  the 
logs.  I  arose  greatly  refreshed  and  feeling  strong 
for  the  day's  work  before  me. 

A  large  awning  in  front  of  the  school-house 
had  been  made  of  boughs  from  the  trees  that  grew 
along  the  banks  of  the  creek  near  by.  The  space 
beneath  the  awning  was  seated,  and  would  ac- 
commodate as  many  as  the  house  itself.  Early 
in  the  morning  crowds  were  seen  coming  from 
various  directions  over  the  new-made  roads.  The 
house  was  packed,  the  seats  under  the  awning  were 
filled,  and  many  stood  at  the  windows,  and  in  front 
of  the  awning.    Some  came  in  their  bare  feet  and 


254  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD, 

shirt-sleeves,  some  on  foot,  and  some  in  ox-teams. 
The  people  were  all  poor,  having  come  from  East- 
ern States  to  get  homes  under  the  "Homestead 
Law."  They  were  poor,  so  far  as  worldly  goods 
are  concerned,  but  were  "  rich  in  faith  and  heirs 
of  the  kingdom."  This  their  tears,  their  prayers, 
their  faith,  their  songs  and  radiant  countenances 
well  attested. 

What  people  want  to  make  them  happy  is  not 
earthly  riches,  but  "godliness  with  content- 
ment ;"  not  fine  mansions,  but  Jesus  in  the  soul. 

November  24th,  of  this  year,  I  held  a  quarterly 
meeting  on  this  circuit,  twelve  miles  north  of 
Seward,  at  the  private  residence  of  Brother  Crosby. 
Brother  Crosby  was  a  steward,  and  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Church.  The  dwelling 
was  made  of  sod,  and  covered  with  the  same  ma- 
terial, but  within  the  walls  were  plastered  beauti- 
fully white,  giving  it  an  air  of  neatness  and 
comfort.  Brother  Crosby  and  his  excellent  and 
amiable  wife  made  all  feel  at  home.  At  two 
o^clock  I  preached  and  held  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence. Late  in  the  afternoon  the  wind  changed  to 
the  north,  it  began  to  snow,  and  the  weather  be- 
came intensely  cold.  Brother  Wilkerson  and 
family  rode  four  miles  in  an  ox-team  that  night, 
facing  that  terrible  storm,  to  meeting.  When  they 
reached  the  bouse  they  were  so  chilled  and  so 
near   frozen   they    could   hardly  get   out   of  the 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  255 

wagon,  and  into  the  house.     As  they  entered,  the 
people  were  singing, 

**  We're  going  home,  we're  going  home.'* 

An  excellent  spirit  pervaded  the  congregation. 
Although  almost  frozen,  Brother  Wilkerson  caught 
the  inspiration  in  an  instant;  his  eye  kindled,  his 
countenance  lit  up  with  unearthly  joy,  and  he  said 
to  me  as  he  stood  by  the  stove  warming:  *^  When 
half-way  here  I  came  very  near  going  back,  but 
I  bless  God  I  came  on.^'  In  two  minutes  after 
he  entered  the  room  he  seemed  more  than  re- 
warded for  his  cold  and  dreary  ride.  On  Sabbath 
morning  the  wind  blew  a  perfect  gale,  and  the 
air  was  filled  with  snow  and  frost.  The  mercury 
was  down  to  sixteen  degrees  below  zero.  Facing 
this  storm.  Brother  Wilkerson  and  family  rode 
four  miles  in  an  ox-team,  and  were  with  us  at  the 
love-feast  at  nine  o'clock.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
experience  of  Sister  Wilkerson  at  that  love-feast. 
Her  face  was  radiant  with  joy.  She  stood  on 
Pisgah's  top,  and  the  glories  of  heaven  seemed 
all  mapped  out  before  her.  Every  word  was  an 
electric  shock  to  the  congregation.  The  angel  of 
the  new  and  everlasting  covenant  hovered  over 
the  assembly ;  God  was  with  his  people,  and  his 
saving  power  was  wonderfully  displayed.  After 
preaching  and  administering  the  sacrament,  several 
united  with  the  Church.    That  meeting,  in  Brother 


256  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Crosby's  private  dwelling,  on  the  wild  and  bleak 
prairies  of  Nebraska,  will  be  remembered  forever. 
My  next  quarterly  meeting  was  on  the  Milford 
Circuit.  The  place  fixed  for  holding  the  meeting 
was  a  school-house,  three  miles  west  of  Camden. 
My  home  duting  the  meeting  was  at  Brother 
William  Staunton's.  He  was  a  cousin  of  the 
Hon.  Edward  Staunton,  then  Secretary  of  War 
under  Abraham  Lincoln's  administration.  Brother 
Staunton  lived  in  a  log  house  on  the  bank  of  a 
small  creek.  The  weather  was  bitter  cold.  On 
Sabbath  the  mercury  was  down  to  twenty-eight 
degrees  below  zero,  and  the  wind  from  the  north 
was  so  strong  it  blew  the  shingles  from  the  roof 
of  the  house.  Water  thrown  into  the  air  would 
freeze  into  ice,  like  bullets,  before  it  reached  the 
ground.  It  was  dangerous  for  a  person  to  under- 
take to  travel  any  distance.  A  few  rods  from 
Brother  Staunton's  house,  in  the  bank  of  the  creek, 
was  a  "  dug-out,"  or  a  cave  dug  in  the  side  of  a 
hill ;  the  south  end,  and  east  and  west  sides,  were 
partly  made  of  logs,  the  roof  was  made  of  poles 
and  brush  covered  with  earth.  This  "dug-out" 
was  very  warm.  In  this  Brother  Fair  and  family 
lived,  and  here  we  held  our  quarterly  meeting. 
In  the  forenoon  we  had  two  families  at  service, 
and  at  night  three.  After  the  sermon  I  called 
for  "  seekers ;"  four  came  forward  and  kneeled 
down  for  prayers.     An  unusual  manifestation  of 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  257 

the  Divine  presence  was  felt.  We  sang  and 
prayed  and  talked  until  all  four  were  clearly 
and  powerfully  converted.  The  storm  raged  fear- 
fully without,  but  within  we  had  calm,  peace, 
joy,  and  spiritual  victory.  Thirteen  years  after- 
wards, when  appointed  to  the  York  Station,  I 
found  two  of  those  that  were  converted  in  that 
*' dug-out"  at.  that  quarterly  meeting,  members 
of  my  choir,  faithful  and  consistent  Christians, 
and  joyfully  pursuing  the  path  they  entered  thir- 
teen years  before.  The  good  accomplished  at  that 
meeting,  on  that  cold  December  day,  will  only  be 
known  in  the  great  day  of  eternity.  From  that 
meeting  went  out  a  salutary  influence  that  will  go 
on  forever.  God  is  not  only  in  the  splendid  church, 
where  crowding  thousands  meet  to  worship  him, 
but  in  the  humble  cabin  as  well,  and  in  the  un- 
pretentious "  dug-out,"  far  away  on  the  Western 
prairies. 

That  same  winter,  1871,  I  left  home  for  a  two 
weeks'  tour  up  into  Butler  and  Polk  Counties. 
I  had  two  quarterly  meetings  to  hold,  one  in 
Butler  and  one  in  Polk  County.  My  course 
from  Lincoln  was  northwest.  I  left  Lincoln  in 
the  morning,  and,  after  traveling  some  hours, 
found  myself  on  the  divide  between  Oak  Creek 
and  Seward.  Although  the  road  was  new,  one  I 
had  never  traveled,  I  felt  perfectly  safe,  because 

the  points  of  the  compass  were  clear  in  my  mind, 
22 


258  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

and  I  felt  sure  I  was  going  in  the  right  direction. 
I  was  facing  the  wind,  and  about  two  o'clock  it 
began  to  snow,  and  the  wind  blew  Avith  increas- 
ing violence.  The  snow  fell  thicker  and  faster, 
and  the  wind  rose  higher  and  higher.  I  found  I 
was  losing  the  points  of  the  compass.  The 
blinding  storm  bewildered  me.  The  road  was 
filling  with  snow  so  fast  it  was  with  great  diffi- 
culty I  could  see  it  at  all.  I  knew  very  well 
that  in  a  little  while  I  should  lose  my  way,  and 
be  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  awful  storm.  Si- 
lently I  breathed  a  prayer  to  God  for  guidance. 
In  a  short  time  afterwards  I  discovered  at  my 
right  a  dim  road  leading  down  a  deep  ravine.  I 
entered  this  road,  and  followed  it  for  two  miles, 
when  I  discovered,  in  a  clump  of  trees  beside  a 
beautiful  creek,  a  log  cabin.  The  sight  of  this 
cabin  brouglit  joy  to  my  heart.  My  fears  in  a 
moment  were  all  gone,  and  I  breathed  easy  once 
more.  The  man  of  the  house  was  at  the  barn  put- 
ting away  his  horses,  and  when  I  rode  up,  spoke  to 
me  very  kindly.  I  requested  the  privilege  of  re- 
maining with  him  during  the  night,  and  the  re- 
quest was  most  cheerfully  granted.  I  entered 
the  cabin,  and  found  a  splendid  fire,  which  I 
greatly  enjoyed  after  the  cold  day's  ride.  Tliis 
man  and  his  excellent  wife  were  members  of  the 
Baptist   Church,   and  devoted  Christians.     They 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  259 

had  just  returned  from  the  grave  of  a  neighbor, 
and  I  said  to  them: 

"Was  your  neighbor  a  Christian?" 
"O  no/^  was  the  reply.  *'He  was  a  man 
of  the  world.  He  was  a  very  wicked  man.  He 
pretended  to  be  an  infidel,  and  worked  on  the 
Sabbath  just  as  on  any  other  day.  He  had 
bought  a  large  tract  of  land  and  was  working 
hard  to  improve  it.  He  seemed  determined  to  be 
a  rich  man." 

"Well,"  I  said,  "how  did  he  die?" 
"Without  any  hope,"  was  the  reply.  "A 
short  time  before  he  died,  he  said,  *  O,  I  can 
not  die,  I  can  not  die.  If  I  only  hdd  my 
life  to  live  over  again,  how  differently  would  I 
live!'  He  exhorted  his  friends  not  to  live  as  he 
had  lived.  '  If  I  could  just  live  my  life  over,  I 
would  live  a  Christian  life,'  were  among  his  last 
words." 

It  was  the  old  story  over  again — the  story 
that  has  been  repeated  all  along  the  ages,  and 
I  fear  will  go  on  repeating  itself  until  the 
trump  of  God  shall  call  a  wicked  world  to  judg- 
ment— a  life  of  sin  and  a  death  of  despair.  He 
had  lived  "as  the  fool  liveth,  and  died  as  the  fool 
dieth." 

The  next  morning  the  storm  had  ceased,  the 
weather   greatly   moderated,  and  I   passed   on  to 


260  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

my  appointment  in  Butler  County,  then  on  into 
Polk  County,  and  after  two  weeks  of  hard  labor 
and  weary  travel,  returned  to  my  home  to  rest 
only  three  or  four  days,  then  to  go  out  again  on 
a  similar  trip. 

The  last  day  of  1871,  and  the  first  day  of  1872, 
I  spent  in  Plattsmouth,  holding  quarterly  meet- 
ing. I  find  in  my  diary  the  following :  "  The  old 
year  passed  away  amid  very  pleasant  surround- 
ings. The  first  day  of  the  new  year  we  had  a  most 
excellent  love-feast;  in  the  morning  had  great 
liberty  preaching  the  word.  A  deep  feeling  per- 
vaded the  congregation.'^ 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  never 
given  an  uncertain  sound  on  the  temperance 
question,  and  on  this  she  has  a  record  of  which 
she  may  well  be  proud.  The  wicked,  unwittingly, 
often  highly  compliment  the  Church  touching 
her  unstained  record  on  this  subject.  When  the 
Rev.  J.  G.  Miller  was  stationed  in  Plattsmouth 
he  Avas  at  one  time  raising  money  to  procure  a 
house  of  worship  for  the  Church.  He  went 
into  a  saloon,  kept  by  a  German,  with  his  sub- 
scription. When  he  entered,  the  saloon-keeper 
made  a  very  polite  bow,  stepped  behind  the  bar, 
and  asked  him  what  he  would  take.  Brother 
Miller  said :  '^  I  am  raising  money  to  build  a 
church,  and  I  have  a  subscription  here,  and  I 
have  called  to  see  how  much  you  will  give." 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  261 

"What  church?"  said  the  saloon-keeper. 

"  The  Methodist  church." 

"Te  Melodist,  te  Metodist  church,  eh?  Te 
Melodist  dey  drink  no  beer;  dey  drink  no 
whisky;  dey  play  no  billiards.  T — m  te  Melo- 
dist church.     Me  give  tern  no  cent." 

On  February  17th  and  18th  I  held  quarterly 
meeting  at  Seward.  Seward  at  this  time  was  a 
thriving  village  of  some  three  hundred  inhab- 
itants, and  was  the  head  of  the  circuit.  The  peo- 
ple came  from  the  various  appointments  on  the 
work  to  the  meeting.  Brother  A.  J.  Combs,  a 
young  man  with  a  soul  all  on  fire  for  souls,  was 
the  pastor.  Brother  Combs  has  long  since  en- 
tered upon  his  reward.  The  revival  flame  had 
swept  over  the  entire  circuit.  At  every  appoint- 
ment the  people  were  clothed  with  panoply  divine. 
Some  came  thirty-five  miles  to  the  meeting.  To 
a  soul  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  the  distance  to 
church  amounts  to  nothing  at  all.  The  pastor,  in 
announcing  the  quarterly  meeting,  requested  those 
coming  from  a  distance  to  bring  their  own  bed- 
ding, as  there  were  but  few  members  in  Seward, 
and  sleeping  apartments  were  scarce.  The  Ma- 
sonic Hall  was  used  as  a  bedroom,  and  was  filled 
with  men  during  each  night  of  the  meeting. 
Brothers  Beatty  and  Davis  provided  meals  for 
large  numbers,  each  feeding  from  thirty-five  to 
forty,  and  providing  sleeping  apartments  for  the 


262  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

women.  At  every  service  the  bouse  was  packed 
to  its  utmost  capacity  with  devout  and  attentive 
listeners.  After  the  sermon  on  Sabbath  moru- 
ing  I  was  called  a  few  blocks  away  to  marry  a 
couple.  This  I  did  while  the  collection  was  be- 
ing taken.  Then  I  returned  to  the  Church,  and 
administered  the  sacrament.  The  meeting  through- 
out was  one  of  great  power.  Many  souls  were 
converted,  and  the  Church  greatly  quickened.  It 
was  a  Pentecost  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1872,  a  revival  of 
religion  took  place  at  the  Haynes  School-house, 
in  Butler  County,  under  the  labors  of  Rev.  Will- 
iam Worley,  assisted  by  Rev.  Joshua  Worley  and 
Rev.  James  Query.  Here  a  class  Avas  organized, 
and  on  the  20th  day  of  the  following  December 
I  held  a  quarterly  meeting  at  this  school-house. 
This  was  the  first  quarterly  meeting  ever  held 
in  this  neighborhood.  Near  where  this  school- 
house  stood  now  stands  the  beautiful  village  of 
Garrison.  Brother  Haynes  lived  in  a  ^^ dug-out^' 
a  mile  and  a  half  away.  On  Saturday,  when 
about  to  leave  for  the  meeting,  his  wife,  who  was 
unable  to  attend,  said  to  him :  ^'  Bring  all  to 
supper  who  will  come,  but  do  not  invite  any  one 
to  stay  all  night ;  and,  above  all,  do  not  invite 
the  presiding  elder.''  Brother  Haynes  disre- 
garded the  instructions  of  his  excellent  wife,  and 
took  the  presiding  elder  home  with  him  to  tea. 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  263 

This  disregard  of  his  wife's  request  gave  the  good 
sister  great  distress  of  mind  for  a  little  while. 
When  the  elder  entered  the  "  dug-out/'  Sister 
Haynes  was  greatly  confused,  and  attempted  to 
stammer  out  an  apology ;  but  the  elder  instantly 
came  to  her  relief  by  saying :  "  O,  sister !  a  sod- 
house  may  be  a  palace  if  we  have  Christ  with 
us."  They  were  from  the  East,  and  had  been 
used  to  much  better  things,  and  their  present 
surroundings  were  humiliating  to  them  in  the 
extreme.  Many  years  afterwards  Sister  Haynes 
said  to  the  writer :  "  The  look  the  presiding  elder 
gave  me,  and  the  words  he  spoke,  at  once  ban- 
ished all  my  false  pride."  Then  the  thought  of 
the  elder's  staying  over  night  with  them  was  an- 
other source  of  great  anxiety  and  trouble  to  the 
heart  of  the  good  sister.  What  to  do  with  him, 
and  where  to  put  him  to  sleep,  were  indeed  j)er- 
plexing  questions.  Just  at  this  juncture,  how- 
ever. Brother  Haynes  greatly  relieved  the  bur- 
dened heart  of  his  much-distressed  wife  by  saying 
that  arrangements  had  been  made  for  the  elder  to 
stay  at  a  neighbor's,  who  lived  in  a  frame  house. 
All  went  to  service  on  Saturday  night;  but  the 
party  living  in  the  frame  house  did  not  put  in 
an  appearance,  and  the  only  thing  for  Brother 
Haynes  to  do  was  to  invite  the  elder  to  go  home 
with  him.  As  Sister  Haynes  neared  her  rude 
^^  dug-out,"   she   was   greatly   surprised   to  see  a 


264  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

gentleman  walking  in  company  with  one  of  her 
sons,  carrying  a  valise.  A  nearer  approach  re- 
vealed to  her  the  awful  fact  that  the  gentleman 
was  the  identical  and  much-dreaded  elder.  The 
elder,  seeing  how  Avonderfully  confused  the  good 
sister  was,  endeavored,  as  much  as  possible,  to 
relieve  her  embarrassment,  and  earnestly  prayed 
that  his  stay  might  prove  a  benediction  rather 
tlian  an  annoyance  and  trouble  to  the  kind  fam- 
ily. How  much  these  brave  men  and  women,  in 
the  earlier  settlement  of  the  State,  suffered,  not 
only  for  the  necessary  comforts  of  life,  but  from 
chagrin  and  humiliation  as  well ! 

The  year  before  I  was  appointed  to  the  dis- 
trict, w^hile  stationed  in  Lincoln,  at  the  request 
of  my  presiding  elder  I  went  out  and  held  a 
quarterly  meeting  for  him  on  the  Oak  Creek  Cir- 
cuit. The  meeting  was  in  a  private  house  on  the 
bank  of  Oak  Creek,  near  where  the  village  of 
Raymond  now  stands.  The  good  man  and  his 
wife  who  kindly  opened  the  doors  of  their  house 
for  the  meeting  were  not  Christians.  At  the 
close  of  the  afternoon  service,  on  Saturday,  I  was 
cordially  invited  to  make  my  home  with  them 
during  the  meeting.  I  accepted  the  kindly  invi- 
tation, and  was  most  pleasantly  entertained  by 
them  until  Monday  morning.  That  first  pleasant 
visit  with  that  kind  family  will  never  be  forgot- 
ten.    It  ripened  into  the  warmest  and  most  last- 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  265 

ing  Christian  friendship.  Though  not  Christians 
themselves,  they  were  quite  free  to  talk  on  the 
subject  of  religion.  On  this  subject  they  were 
more  than  ordinarily  communicative.  We  had 
several  pleasant  conversations  on  religion  during 
my  stay.  On  Monday  morning,  while  my  horse 
was  being  harnessed  and  brought  to  the  door,  I 
again  spoke  to  the  lady  on  religion.  She  said ; 
^^  I  would  like  to  be  a  Christian.  My  husband 
would  like  to  be  a  Christian.  We  have  talked 
the  matter  over  many  times,  and  we  expect  to 
become  Christians  some  day.  But  if  we  were 
to  become  Christians,  we  could  not  join  your 
Church.^' 

^^Why  not?"  said  I. 

^^ Because,"  said  she,  "it  is  contrary  to  the 
rules  of  your  Church  for  its  members  to  dance." 

"Yes,  that  is  true,"  said  I.     She  continued: 

"  My  husband  and  I  do  not  think  there  is 
any  harm  at  all  in  dancing.  We  go  to  our 
neighbors',  and  have  a  pleasant,  social  dance 
almost  every  week,  and  we  do  not  think  there 
is  anytliing  wrong  in  it.  So,  of  course,  we  could 
not  join  your  Church." 

I  said  to  her:  "Sister  W.,  you  get  religion, 

and   you   may  dance."     She   looked   at  me  with 

surprise.     I  continued:  "You  get  religion,  and 

you  will  have  no  desire  to  dance."     This  closed 

the  conversation.     I   thanked   her  and  her  good 
23 


266         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

husband    for    their    kindness,    stepped    into    my 
buggy,  and  drove  home. 

At  the  next  Conference  I  was  appointed  pre- 
siding elder  of  the  district.  Just  one  year  from 
the  time  I  held  the  above  meeting,  I  went  out 
and  held  another  in  the  same  neighborhood.  In 
the  meantime  a  small,  frame  school-house  had 
been  built.  It  was  about  a  half  mile  from  Avhere 
the  meeting  was  held  the  year  before.  In  this 
school-house  I  held  the  quarterly  meeting;  and 
on  Sabbath  night  that  man  and  his  wife  were 
both  happily  converted  to  God,  and  they  have 
been  faithful  and  consistent  members  of  the 
Church  ever  since.  Brother  C.  C.  White  has 
held  honorable  positions  in  Church  and  State. 
In  1880  he  was  one  of  the  lay  delegates  of  the 
Nebraska  Conference  to  the  General  Conference, 
and  was  an  active  and  influential  member  of  that 
body.  He  is  alive  to  all  the  great  interests  of  the 
Church.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in  edu- 
cational matters,  and  his  deep  interest  is  mani- 
fested by  the  thousands  of  dollars  he  has  con- 
tributed for  the  promotion  of  Christian  education 
in  the  State.  I  have  often  heard  Sister  White 
refer  to  the  conversation  we  had  during  that 
meeting  at  her  house  on  Oak  Creek,  and  she  has 
since  said  to  me :  "  When  you  said,  ^  Get  religion 
and  you  will  have  no  desire  to  dance,^  I  did  not 
believe  a  word  you  said.     I  did  not  believe  you 


DISTRICT  INCIDENTS.  267 

would  tell  a  willful  falsehood,  nor  did  I  believe 
you  would  willfully  misrepresent,  but  thought 
you  w^ere  very  greatly  mistaken.  From  the  very 
moment  I  was  converted  I  have  had  no  desire 
whatever  to  dance.'' 

If  we  are  in  the  Church,  and  the  desire  to 
dance  is  still  strong,  it  seems  to  me  we  have  not 
got  what  Christ  has  for  us.  If  Christ  can  not  give 
us  something  better  than  the  world  gives,  then  it 
seems  to  me  our  religion  does  not  amount  to  very 
much.  Before  I  was  converted  I  was  passion- 
ately fond  ot  dancing.  It  was  the  most  fasci- 
nating amusement  I  ever  engaged  in.  There  is 
something  about  the  dance  and  cards  that  is 
wonderfully  bewitching;  and  yet  as  dearly  as  I 
loved  cards,  and  as  passionately  fond  of  dancing 
as  I  was,  the  very  moment  I  was  converted  the 
desire  for  these  things  left  me,  and — to  the  praise 
and  glory  of  God  I  say  it! — never  once  has  it 
returned.  When  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  con- 
verted my  soul,  he  gave  me  something  infinitely 
better  than  the  world  ever  gave. 

I  once  heard  the  late  Bishop  Clark  relate  the 
following:  *^  A  most  gracious  revival  of  religioo 
was  in  progress  in  one  of  the  charges  in  Cincin- 
nati. Night  after  night  a  young  lady  of  wealth 
and  fashion  was  seen  at  the  altar  for  prayer. 
She  was  a  leader  in  the  fashionable  circles 
of   society    in    the    city.     She    manifested    great 


268  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

earnestness  and  was  in  deep  mental  distress,  and 
yet  could  get  no  relief.  I  said  to  her:  'Are  you 
willing  to  give  up  all  for  Christ?'  'Yes,'  was 
the  prompt  reply.  I  knew  she  was  passionately 
fond  of  dancing,  and  said :  '  Are  you  willing  to 
give  up  dancing?'  She  replied:  'I  can  be  a 
Christian  and  dance.'  I  said :  '  I  am  afraid  you 
will  not  get  religion  until  you  are  willing  to  give 
up  the  ball-room.'  The  next  night  after  this 
conversation  I  knelt  in  front  of  her  at  the  altar. 
She  raised  her  head,  and,  smiling  through  her 
tears,  said  :  '  I  do  n't  want  to  dance  now ."  The 
desire  for  the  dance  left  her,  and  she  became  as 
eminent  a  worker  in  the  Church  as  she  had  pre- 
viously been  a  leader  in  the  fashionaable  circles 
of  the  world." 

Let  Christ  come  into  the  heart  in  his  fullnesS; 
then  old  things  pass  away  and  all  things  become 
new.  Our  nature's  rapid  tide  is  turned  back,  and 
all  our  affections  flow  out  after  God. 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  269 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK. 

Marvelous  Growth  —  Privations  and  Toils  of  the 
Preachers — The  Christmas-box  —  A  Touching  Inci- 
dent— The  Conference  of  1873 — Bishop  Andrews — 
Conference  of  1874  —  Bishop  Bowman  —  Dr.  J.  M. 
Reid — Conference  of  1875 — Bishop  Gilbert  Haven — 
His  Triumphant  Death — Rev.  George  Worley. 

THE  Conference  year  which  closed  March  23, 
1872,  had  been  a  year  of  unparalleled  suc- 
cess. The  most  wonderful  spiritual  victories  had 
been  gained  all  along  the  line.  The  toils  and 
sacrifices  of  the  ministers  and  their  families  were 
crowned  with  the  most  brilliant  achievements. 
The  hardships  endured  by  these  heroes  and 
heroines  in  planting  the  Church  along  the  frontier, 
in  the  sparsely -settled  neighborhoods,  are  known 
only  to  themselves,  to  God,  and  "  the  Church  of 
the  first-born .''  What  a  grand  reward  awaits 
these  pioneer  heralds  of  the  cross !  Some  of  them 
have  already  entered  upon  their  reward.  They 
have  gone  home,  and  they  rest  from  their  labors, 
but  their  works  follow  them.  They  built  not  on 
other  men's  foundations;  they  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Church  in  this  new  land  at  a  time 


270  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

that "  tried  men's  souls ;''  and  others  are  now  build- 
ing on  the  foundations  laid  by  these  pure  men 
and  women,  and  cemented  by  their  tears  of  suf- 
fering and  sorrow.  It  requires  neither  nerve  nor 
pluck  to  go  to  an  appointment  where  there  is  a 
fine  church,  a  fine  parsonage,  a  fine  membership, 
and  a  fine  salary.  Any  ordinary  man  can  go  to 
an  appointment  like  that.  But  it  takes  a  man  of 
nerve  and  pluck  and  indomitable  perseverance — 
a  man  of  the  Pauline  and  Bishop  Taylor  type — 
to  go  where  none  of  these  things  exist,  and,  by  his 
faith  and  heroic  labors,  create  from  raw  material 
the  fine  church,  the  fine  parsonage,  the  fine  mem- 
bership, and  the  fine  salary.  This  work  the  pio- 
neers of  Nebraska  did.  They  counted  not  their 
Jives  dear  unto  themselves,  nor  the  lives  of  their 
families,  so  that  they  might  finish  the  work  they 
were  commissioned  by  the  Master  to  do.  Paul 
did  not  want  to  "  build  upon  another  man's  foun- 
dation,'' nor  do  work  where  everything  was  "  made 
ready  to  his  hand."  He  swam  rivers,  climbed 
mountains,  crossed  oceans;  was  stoned,  beaten 
with  rods,  imprisoned,  wrecked  upon  the  stormy 
sea  time  and  again, — all  that  he  might  carry  the 
gospel  into  "  the  regions  beyond,"  and  plant  the 
standard  of  the  cross  where  it  never  before  had 
been  planted.  So  these  early  pioneers  carried 
the  gospel  into  "  the  regions  beyond,"  and  planted 
the  standard  of  the  cross  upon  entirely  new  terri- 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  271 

toiy ;  and  where  it  was  first  planted,  that  standard 
still  proudly  waves  to-day. 

In  1872,  Ulysses  first  appeared  upon  the  Con- 
ference Minutes.  The  pastor  appointed  to  this 
charge  was  impecunious — he  had  scarcely  anything 
at  all ;  but  he  went  to  work  like  a  true  Methodist 
preacher,  laid  out  a  circuit  over  a  hundred  miles 
around,  organized  a  number  of  new  classes,  and 
although  he  had  no  means  to  procure  himself  a 
horse,  having  good  feet  and  long  legs,  and  a  heart 
overflowing  with  love  for  God  and  souls,  he  trav- 
eled his  work  the  whole  of  the  year  on  foot.  God 
was  with  him.  The  revival  flame  swept  over  the 
entire  circuit,  and  he  returned  one  hundred  and 
forty  members,  including  probationers,  an  increase 
of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  during  the  year. 
Many  of  the  preachers  on  the  district  that  year 
did  just  as  heroic  service  for  the  Master  as  Brother 
Reed. 

We  do  not  disparage  the  work  of  those  who 
came  after  the  vanguard,  and  are  building  upon 
the  foundations  they  found  laid  and  "  made  ready 
to  their  hand.^'  Theirs,  too,  is  a  big  work,  and 
they,  too,  will  receive  a  great  reward.  God 
"  shall  reward  every  man  according  to  his  work.'' 
But  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  among  the 
multitudes  that  shall  gather  around  the  great 
white  throne  in  the  last  day,  those  who  shall 
stand  nearest  the  throne,  be  most  like  the  Master, 


272         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

have  the  brightest  crowns,  the  loveliest  palms, 
and  have  accorded  to  them  the  highest  praise  and 
the  greatest  honors,  will  be  those  who  can  present 
the  longest  list  of  sufferings  for  the  Master,  and 
can  say,  "We  suffered  all  this  for  thee/^ 

At  that  time  there  was  no  "  Wopian^s  Home 
Missionary  Society"  in  operation.  The  pioneers 
along  the  frontier  seldom  received  assistance  from 
the  East.  That  society  to-day  is  doing  a  noble 
work  in  furnishing  supplies  to  God's  great  spir- 
itual army  at  the  front.  The  picket-lines  are  ex- 
posed to  peril  and  suffering  now,  just  as  they 
were  twenty  years  ago.  The  only  difference  is, 
the  lines  are  a  little  farther  to  the  West.  Some 
out  on  these  picket-lines  have  received  aid  that 
has  brought  joy  and  gladness  to  their  hearts,  and 
cheer  and  sunshine  into  their  homes. 

One  incident  may  be  cited  to  show  what  this 
society  is  doing,  and  what  it  may  continue  to  do. 
The  narrative  is  by  a  minister's  wife  on  the  fron- 
tier, and  was  published  in  The  Woman's  Home 
Mission. 

"  I  remember  a  day  during  one  winter  that 
stands  out  in  my  life  like  a  boulder.  The  weather 
was  unusually  cold;  our  salary  had  not  been  reg- 
ularly paid,  and  it  did  not  meet  our  needs  when 
it  was.  My  husband  was  away  traveling  from 
one  district  to  another  much  of  the  time. 

^'  Our  boys  were  well ;  but  my  little  Ruth  was 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  273 

ailing,  and,  at  best,  none  of  us  were  decently 
clothed.  I  patched  and  repatched,  with  spirits 
sinking  to  their  lowest  ebb.  The  water  gave  out 
in  the  well,  and  the  wind  blew  through  the  cracks 
of  the  floor. 

"  The  people  in  the  parish  were  kind,  and  gen-, 
erous  too;  but  the  settlement  was  new,  and  each 
family  was  struggling  for  itself.  Little  by  little, 
at  the  time  when  I  needed  most,  my  faith  began 
to  waver.  Early  in  life  I  was  taught  to  tak(> 
God  at  his  word,  and  I  thought  my  lesson  waq 
well  learned.  I  had  lived  upon  the  promises  in 
dark  times,  until  I  knew,  as  David  did,  who  was 
*  my  Fortress  and  Deliverer.^  Now  a  daily  prayer 
for  forgiveness  was  all  that  I  could  offer. 

"  My  husband\s  overcoat  was  hardly  thick 
enough  for  October,  and  he  was  obliged  to  ride 
miles  to  attend  some  meeting  or  funeral.  Many 
a  time  our  breakfast  was  Indian  cake  and  a  cup 
of  tea  without  any  sugar.  Christmas  was  coming; 
the  children  always  expected  their  presents.  \ 
remember  the  ice  was  thick  and  smooth,  and  the 
boys  were  each  craving  a  pair  of  skates. 

"  Ruth,  in  some  unaccountable  way,  had  taken 
a  fancy  that  the  dolls  I  had  made  were  no  longer 
suitable ;  she  wanted  a  large,  nice  one,  and  in^ 
sisted  on  praying  for  it.  I  knew  it  was  impossi- 
ble; but,  O,  how  I  wanted  to  give  each  child  its 
present!     It  seemed  as  if  God  had  deserted  us; 


274  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

but  I  did  not  tell  my  husband  all  this.  He 
worked  so  earnestly  and  heartily,  I  supposed  him 
to  be  hopeful  as  ever.  I  kept  the  sitting-room 
cheery  with  an  open  fire,  and  tried  to  serve  our 
scanty  meals  as  invitingly  as  I  could.  The  morn- 
ing before  Christmas  James  was  called  to  see  a 
sick  man.  I  put  up  a  piece  of  bread  for  a  lunch — 
it  was  the  best  I  could  do — wrapped  my  plaid 
shawl  around  his  neck,  and  then  tried  to  whisper 
a  promise,  as  I  often  had,  but  the  words  died 
away  on  my  lips.  I  let  him  go  Avithout  it.  That 
was  a  dark,  hopeless  day.  I  coaxed  the  children 
to  bed  early,  for  I  could  not  bear  their  talk. 
When  Ruth  went  I  listened  to  her  prayer;  she 
asked  for  the  last  time  most  explicitly  for  her 
doll  and  for  skates  for  her  brothers.  Her  bright 
face  looked  so  lovely  when  she  whispered  to  me, 
'  You  know  I  think  they^ll  be  here  early  to- 
morrow morning — early,  mamma,"  that  I  thought 
I  could  move  heaven  and  earth  to  save  her  from 
disappointment.  I  sat  down  alone,  and  gave  way 
to  the  bitterest  tears. 

"  Before  long  James  returned,  chilled  and  ex- 
hausted. He  drew  off  his  boots ;  the  thin  stock- 
ings slipped  off  with  them,  and  his  feet  were  red 
with  cold.  I  wouldn't  treat  a  dog  that  way,  let 
alone  a  faithful  servant.  Then,  as  I  glanced  up 
and  noticed  the  hard  lines  in  his  face,  and  the 
look  of  despair,  it  flashed  across  me  that  James 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  275 

had  let  go  too !  I  brought  him  a  cup  of  tea, 
feeling  sick  and  dizzy  at  the  very  thought.  He 
took  my  hand,  and  we  sat  for  an  hour,  neither 
uttering  a  word.  I  wanted  to  die  and  meet  God, 
and  tell  him  his  promise  wasn't  true — my  soul 
was  so  full  of  rebellious  despair.  There  came  a 
sound  of  bells,  a  quick  step,  and  a  loud  knock  at 
the  door.  James  sprang  to  open  it.  There  stood 
Deacon  Pike.  ^  A  box  came  for  you  by  express 
just  before  dark.  I  brought  it  around  as  soon  as 
I  could  get  away.  Reckoned  it  might  be  for 
Christmas.  At  any  rate,  they  shall  have  it  to- 
night. Here  is  a  turkey  my  wife  asked  me  to 
fetch  along;  and  these  other  things,  I  believe, 
belong  to  you.'  There  was  a  basket  of  potatoes 
and  a  bag  of  flour.  Talking  all  the  time,  he 
hurried  in  a  box,  and  then,  with  a  hearty  good- 
night, rode  away. 

"  Still,  without  speaking,  James  found  a  chisel 
and  opened  the  box.  I  drew  out  at  first  a  thick, 
red  blanket,  and  we  saw  that  beneath  was  full  of 
clothing.  It  seemed  at  that  moment  as  if  Christ 
fastened  upon  me  a  look  of  reproach.  James  sat 
down,  and  covered  his  face  with  his  hands.  '  I 
can  not  touch  them  !'  he  exclaimed.  '  I  have  n't 
been  true  just  when  God  was  trying  me  to 
see  if  I  could  hold  out.  Do  you  think  I  could 
not  see  how  you  were  suffering,  and  I  had  no 
word  of  comfort  to  offer?     I  know  now  how  to 


276        SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

preach  the  awfulness  of  turning  away  from  God/ 
'James/  I  said,  clinging  to  him,  'don't  take  it  to 
heart  like  this.  I  Ve  been  to  blame.  I  ought 
to  have  helped  you.  We  will  ask  Him  together 
to  forgive  us.'  '  Wait  a  moment,  dear ;  I  can  not 
talk  now.'  Then  he  went  into  another  room.  I 
knelt  down,  and  my  heart  broke.  In  an  instant 
all  the  darkness  rolled  away.  Jesus  came  again, 
and  stood  before  me;  but  now  with  the  loving 
word,  'Daughter!'  Sweet  promises  of  tenderness 
and  joy  flooded  my  soul,  and  I  was  so  lost  in 
praise  and  gratitude  that  I  forgot  everything  else. 
I  do  n't  know  how  long  it  was  before  James  came 
back,  but  I  knew  that  he  too  had  found  peace. 
'Now,  dear  wife,'  said  he,  'let  us  thank  God  to- 
gether;' and  then  he  poured  out  words  of  praise — 
Bible  words,  for  nothing  else  could  express  our 
thanksgiving.  It  was  eleven  o'clock.  The  fire 
was  low ;  and  there  was  the  great  box,  and  noth- 
ing touched  but  the  warm  blanket  we  needed  so 
much.  We  piled  on  some  fresh  logs,  lighted  two 
candles,  and  began  to  examine  our  treasures. 
We  drew  out  an  overcoat.  I  made  James  try  it 
on.  Just  the  right  size!  and  I  danced  awhile 
around  him,  for  all  my  light-heartedness  had  re- 
turned. Then  there  was  a  cloak,  and  he  insisted 
on  seeing  me  in  it.  My  spirits  always  infected 
him,  and  we  laughed  like  foolish  children.  There 
was  a  warm  suit  of  clothes  also,  and  three  pairs 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  277 

of  warm  woolen  hose.  There  was  a  dress  for  me, 
and  yards  of  flannel ;  a  pair  of  Arctic  overshoes 
for  each  of  us,  and  in  mine  was  a  slip  of  paper. 
I  have  it  now,  and  mean  to  hand  it  down  to  my 
children.  It  was  Jacob's  blessing  to  Asher: 
'  Thy  shoes  shall  be  iron  and  brass,  and  as  thy 
days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be.'  In  the  gloves — 
evidently  for  James — the  same  dear  hand  had 
written :  '  I,  the  Lord  thy  God,  will  hold  thy 
right  hand,  saying  unto  thee.  Fear  not,  I  will 
help  thee.' 

"It  was  a  wonderful  box,  and  packed  with 
thoughtful  care.  There  was  a  suit  of  clothes  for 
each  of  the  boys,  and  a  little,  red  gown  for  Ruth. 
There  were  mittens,  scarfs,  and  hoods;  down  in 
the  center  a  box ;  we  opened  it,  and  there  was  a 
great  wax  doll.  I  burst  into  tears  again,  and 
James  wept  with  me  for  joy.  It  was  too  much  ; 
and  then  we  both  exclaimed  again,  for  close  be- 
hind it  came  two  pairs  of  skates.  There  were 
books  for  us  to  read — some  of  them  I  had  wished 
to  see ;  stories  for  the  children  to  read ;  aprons  and 
underclothing ;  knots  of  ribbon ;  a  gay  little  tidy; 
a  lovely  photograph;  needles,  buttons,  and  thread; 
actually  a  muff,  and  an  envelope  containing  a  ten- 
dollar  gold  piece !  At  last  we  cried  over  every- 
thing we  took  up.  It  was  past  midnight,  and  we 
Avere  faint  and  exhausted  even  with  happiness. 
I  made  a  cup  of  tea,  cut  a  fresh  loaf  of  bread, 


278         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

and  James  boiled  some  eggs.  We  drew  up  the 
table  before  the  fire.  How  we  enjoyed  our  sup- 
per! And  then  we  sat  talking  over  all  our  life, 
and  how  sure  a  help  God  had  always  proved. 

"  You  should  have  seen  the  children  next 
morning!  The  boys  raised  a  shout  at  the  sight 
of  their  skates.  Ruth  caught  up  her  doll,  and 
hugged  it  tightly  without  a  word ;  then  she  went 
into  her  room,  and  knelt  by  her  bed.  When  she 
came  back  she  whispered  to  me,  *  I  knew  it  would 
be  here,  mamma;  but  I  wanted  to  thank  God  just 
the  same,  you  know.'  '  Look  here,  wife  ;  see  the 
difference!'  We  went  to  the  window,  and  there 
Avere  the  boys,  out  of  the  house  already,  and 
skating  on  the  crust  Avith  all  their  might. 

'^My  husband  and  I  both  tried  to  return 
thanks  to  the  Church  in  the  East  that  sent  us 
the  box,  and  have  tried  to  return  thanks  unto 
God  every  day  since.  Hard  times  have  come 
again  and  again ;  but  Ave  have  trusted  in  him, 
dreading  nothing  so  much  as  a  doubt  of  his 
protecting  care.  Over  and  OA^er  again  Ave  ha\^e 
proved  that  Hhey  that  seek  the  Lord  shall  not 
want  any  good  thing.'  " 

This  family  represents  many  on  duty  to-day 
along  the  picket-lines  of  the  great  NorthAvest. 
I  have  known  families  like  the  above — pure, 
noble  men  and  Avomen,  God's  saints  on  the 
earth — to   Avhose  very  door  want  had  come;   but 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  279 

there  was  no  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society 
to  help  them. 

During  the  year  the  membership  on  the  Lin- 
coln District  increased  ninety  per  cent,  and  the 
Sunday-schools  and  church  and  parsonage-build- 
ing enterprises  increased  at  the  same  ratio.  Other 
districts  of  the  Conference  were  abreast  with 
Lincoln. 

The  Conference  year  ending  March  24,  1873, 
was  also  a  year  of  marvelous  grow^th.  The 
mighty  wave  of  emigration  from  the  East  con- 
tinued to  ro;l  into  the  State,  and  on  to  the  west- 
ern counties  where  land  could  be  homesteaded. 
The  Conference  met  this  year  at  Plattsmouth. 
The  reports  were  all  exceedingly  gratifying.  Ev- 
ery presiding  elder  reported  great  progress  on  all 
lines  of  Church  work.  Great  revivals  had  taken 
place,  and  hundreds  had  been  converted  and 
gathered  into  the  Church.  In  sod  churches,  sod 
school-houses,  sod  dwellings,  dug-outs,  and  in  the 
tented  grove,  God's  saving  power  had  been  most 
signally  displayed  in  the  conversion  of  sinners 
and  the  sanctification  of  believers.  The  plains 
and  hills  of  the  beautiful  prairies  were  made  to 
resound  with  praises  to  Almighty  God. 

At  this  Conference  we  first  met  Bishop  An- 
drews. At  first  sight  we  feared  we  should  not 
like  him.  These  fears,  however,  were  very  soon 
dissipated.     His   kind    and    genial    manner,    his 


280  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

great  interest  in  the  welfare  of  all  the  preachers, 
his  deep  sympathy  with  them  in  their  privations 
and  sacrifices,  won  the  hearts  of  all.  We  all  felt 
that  Bishop  Andrews  was  the  right  man  in  the 
right  place.  How  wonderfully  we  have  been 
blessed  as  a  Church  in  our  superintendents!  The 
bishop  lived  for  a  number  of  years  in  Des  Moines, 
Iowa;  and,  while  his  home  was  in  the  West,  he 
was,  like  Paul,  *'  in  journeyings  often,  in  labors 
more  abundant;"  and  since  his  return  to  the  East 
his  labors  have  been  none  the  less  arduous  and 
unremitting.  No  class  of  men  in  the  Church  are 
harder  worked  than  the  bishops  and  the  presiding 
elders.  W^e  never  called  on  the  bishop  for  extra 
work  but  he  willingly'^responded,  and  we  drew  on 
him  often. 

At  Weeping  Water  a  good  stone  church  was 
finished  January  13,  1874,  under  the  successful 
labors  of  Brother  A.  L.  Folden.  Bishop  An- 
drews came  over  and  dedicated  it,  and  raised  the 
necessary  amount  to  liquidate  all  debts.  The 
good  people  of  that  city  who  were  there  at  that 
time  well  remember  the  dedicatory  services.  Al- 
though the  dedication  was  on  week-day,  and  the 
weather  bitter  cold,  the  house  was  packed  to  its 
utmost  capacity,  and  the  services  throughout  were 
most  interesting.  Some  of  the  members  gave 
more  than  they  thought  they  were  able  to  give. 
I  really  thought  so  myself.    They  deprived  them- 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  281 

selves  of  many  of  the  necessaries  of  life  that  they 
might  have  a  church  in  which  to  worship  God, 
I  have  no  doubt  but  God  has  rewarded  them  for 
their  liberality.  Many  gracious  revivals  of  relig- 
ion have  taken  place  in  that  church,  and  hundreds 
of  precious  souls  have  there  been  converted  to 
God. 

The  next  winter  the  bishop  was  with  us,  and 
dedicated  the  church  at  Syracuse ;  then  went  with 
us  to  Seward,  and  dedicated  the  church  there, 
which  had  been  built  by  Brother  Folden  also. 
Nearly  all  the  churches  built  in  Nebraska  while 
the  bishop  resided  at  Des  Moines  were  dedicated 
by  him. 

At  the  Plattsmouth  Conference  a  resolution 
was  adopted  respectfully  requesting  the  bishops 
to  change  the  time  of  the  sessions  of  the  Ne- 
braska Conference  to  the  fall  of  the  year.  The 
request  was  complied  with,  and  the  next  Confer- 
ence year  was  eighteen  months  long. 

The  fourteenth  session  of  the  Nebraska  Con- 
ference met  at  Omaha,  October  1,  1874,  Bishop 
Thomas  Bowman  presiding.  On  Sunday  morn- 
ing the  bishop  preached  a  masterly  sermon. 
His  subject  was,  "  The  Tyndall  Prayer-test." 
Brother  S.  P.  Van  Doozer  had  given  to  the 
bishop  and  the  cabinet  some  remarkable  answers 
to   prayer  during  the  year  by   members  of  the 

Church  who  lived  in  the  district  scourged  by  tlie 
24 


282         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

grasshoppers.  The  bishop  used  these  with  telling 
eifect  and  power  in  illustrating  his  sermon  on 
Sunday  morning. 

The  Conference  year  had  been  one  of  great 
trial,  both  to  preachers  and  people.  The  grass- 
hopper scourge  was  upon  us.  In  addition  to  the 
destructive  grasshoppers,  the  crops  had  been  cut 
short  by  the  dry  ^veather  and  hot  winds ;  so  w^hat 
the  grasshoppers  did  not  eat,  the  hot  winds,  to  a 
great  extent,  destroyed.  There  are  a  few  days 
almost  every  year  when  we  feel  the  hot  winds 
from  the  south,  but  we  have  never  known  a  year 
in  which  there  were  so  many  days  with  hot  winds 
from  the  south  as  there  were  in  1874.  The  hot 
winds  felt  just  as  though  they  came  from  a  fur- 
nace. It  did  no  good  whatever  to  use  a  fan.  If 
you  did,  it  was  blowing  hot  air  into  your  face. 
Many  farmers  that  year  became  discouraged  and 
left  the  State.  Some  of  them  never  returned ; 
others,  after  years,  returned,  greatly  regretting 
that  they  were  so  foolish  as  to  have  left  the 
State.  Those  who  remained  and  were  industri- 
ous have  become  independent,  and  many  of  them 
affluent. 

Dr.  J.  M.  Reid,  missionary  secretary,  came 
with  the  bishop  to  this  Conference.  He  was 
greatly  moved  when  he  heard  of  the  privations 
and  suiFerings  of  the  people.  He  said  to  the 
writer:   "I  wish  I  had  known  the  condition  of 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK,  283 

aftairs  in  your  Conference  sooner.  If  I  had,  I 
could  have  secured  some  more  missionary  money 
for  you  from  the  Contingent  Fund;  but  I  can't 
do  it  now/'  He  placed  in  my  hands  twenty -five 
dollars,  saying:  "This  is  from  a  Christian  lady 
of  New  York  City.  She  wants  you  to  give  it  to 
five  of  the  most  needy  Methodist  preachers'  wives 
in  your  district."  I  think  he  gave  the  same 
amount  to  the  other  elders.  I  said  to  him: 
"What  is  the  lady's  name?  I  should  like  to 
know  the  name  of  the  generous,  Christian  lady 
who  makes  this  donation  to  the  wives  of  my 
preachers,  and  I  am  sure  the  wives  of  the  preach- 
ers would  be  glad  to  know."  "  That  does  not 
matter.  She  does  not  care  to  have  her  name 
known,"  said  he.  I  felt  certain  in  my  own  mind 
that  it  was  the  Doctor's  generous  and  big-hearted 
wife  that  had  made  the  gift.  I  gave  five  dollars 
each  to  five  of  the  most  needy  preachers'  wives 
on  my  district,  and  they  received  the  present 
with  grateful  hearts.  I  often  wished  that  the 
giver  knew  just  how  much  good  that  donation 
did ;  it  was  a  real  benediction  to  these  toil-worn, 
self-sacrificing  women.  The  giver  will  most  as- 
suredly receive  her  reward. 

A  full  account  of  the  grasshopper  scourge  may 
be  found  elsewhere  in  this  book. 

The  next  Conference  was  held  in  Lincoln, 
beginning  September   15,   1875,   Bishop   Gilbert 


284  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Haven  presiding.  The  good  bishop  has  long 
since  gone  to  his  reward.  His  death  was  a  shock 
to  the  whole  Church,  and  the  whole  Nation  as 
well.  His  fame  was  not  only  national,  but  world- 
wide. His  departure  from  earth  was  triumphant. 
Among  his  last  words- were:  "I  am  floating!  I 
am  surrounded  with  angels!"  Like  the  sainted 
Cookman,  one  of  his  dearest  friends,  he  went 
"sweeping  through  the  gates,  washed  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb." 

The  four  years  from  1871  to  1875  were  years 
of  great  spiritual  and  numerical  prosperity. 
During  these  four  years  the  appointments  in  the 
Conference  increased  from  sixty-four  to  one  hun- 
dred and  six,  and  the  membership  from  five 
thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  to  nine 
thousand  and  fifty-six. 

In  my  report  to  the  Conference,  I  said :  "  AVe 
must  remember,  however,  that  the  strength  and  in- 
fluence of  a  Church  does  not  always  depend  upon 
her  numbers.  She  may  be  numerically  strong,  but 
weak  in  influence  and  spiritual  power.  If  the 
spirituality  of  the  Church  does  not  keep  pace  with 
her  numerical  strength,  we  may  well  fear  and 
tremble.  ^  Onward !'  should  be  the  rallying  cry 
of  every  Christian.  Every  mountain  of  faith 
and  joy  climbed  by  the  Christian  points  to  a  still 
higher  mountain  beyond  for  him  to  climb,  and 
every  mountain  summit  thus  gained  increases  his 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  285 

power  with  God  and  men ;  and  he  should  re- 
member with  joy  that,  however  high  the  mount- 
ain of  faith  and  joy  may  be  to  which  he  has 
attained, 

'  Still  there  's  more  to  follow.' 

The  Church  has  not  only  grown  in  numbers  but 
in  spiritual  power.'' 

I  can  not  close  this  chapter  without  a  per- 
sonal reference  to  Rev.  George  Worley.  Brother 
Worley  was  one  of  the  most  successful,  devoted, 
and  self-sacrificing  local  preachers  it  has  ever 
been  my  privilege  to  know.  I  first  met  him  in 
1869.  While  on  the  district,  I  employed  him  at 
different  times  as  a  supply,  and  no  preacher  ever 
did  more  effective  work.  Revival  after  revival 
swept  over  the  different  charges  he  traveled.  His 
crown  will  not  be  a  starless  one;  and  his  pure- 
spirited  and  large-hearted  wife  will  have  a  crown, 
methinks,  that  will  flame  with  as  many  brilliant 
stars  as  that  of  her  husband.  James,  their  son, 
has  for  years  been  one  of  our  successful  mission- 
aries in  China;  William  and  Thomas  are  both 
honored  ministers  in  the  Church  at  home — the 
former  a  member  of  the  North  Nebraska  Confer- 
ence, the  latter  of  the  Nebraska  Conference.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  many  kindnesses  received 
from  Brother  and  Sister  Worley.  All  honor  to 
such  fathers  and  mothers  in  Israel!  On  the 
fifth   day  of  March,   1890,   at  the   ripe   age   of 


286  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

seventy-two,   from   her  home   in  Garrison,   Ne- 
braska, Sister  Worley  bid  adieu  to  earthly  friends, 
^  and  passed  in  triumph  to  her  heavenly  home.     A 

few  moments  before  her  happy  spirit  took  its  up- 
ward and  eternal  flight,  she  repeated  one  verse  of 
her  favorite  hymn : 

"  0  would  my  Lord  his  servant  meet! 

My  soul  would  stretch  her  wings  in  haste, 
Fly  fearless  through  death's  iron  gate, 
Nor  feel  the  terrors  as  she  passed." 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  287 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK- 
CONTINUED. 

Appointed  to  Omaha  District — Columbus — Osceola — 
Rising  City — David  City — The  Work  in  Omaha — 
Conference  at  Falls  City — Bishop  Foster— Ap- 
pointed THE  Second  Time  to  Nebraska  City  Dis- 
trict— A  Remarkable  Meeting — West  Nebraska 
Mission  formed — Dr.  T.  B.  Lemon — Division  of  the 
Conference. 

AT  the  Conference  of  1875  we  were  appointed 
by  Bishop  Haven  to  the  Omaha  District. 
The  district  extended  as  far  west  as  Columbus, 
and  embraced  territory  on  both  sides  of  the 
Platte  River.  Columbus  first  appeared  as  an  ap- 
pointment in  the  Minutes  of  the  Nebraska  Con- 
ference in  1867,  Joel  Warner  the  pastor.  At  the 
end  of  the  Conference  year  seven  members  were 
reported.  At  this  Conference  the  appointment 
was  dropped  from  the  list,  and  did  not  appear 
again  until  1871.  At  this  Conference  it  appears 
again  in  the  Minutes  as  one  of  the  appointments, 
with  L.  F.  Whitehead  as  pastor.  For  some  years 
the  growth  of  the  society  was  very  slow. 

When  we  took  the  district  in  1875,  Columbus 


288  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

was  the  most  western  appointment,  was  a  small 
town,  and  our  Church  was  very  weak ;  but  that 
little  town  has  grown  to  a  city,  and  that  little, 
weak  Church  to  a  strong  one,  and  it  is  now  one 
of  the  leading  stations  of  the  North  Nebraska 
Conference.  Osceola,  the  county-seat  of  Polk 
County,  just  south  of  Columbus,  was  then  a 
small  village,  with  only  a  few  houses.  Among 
the  first  settlers  at  this  point  were  Rev.  James 
Query,  H.  C.  Query,  Wm.  Query,  G.  W.  Ken- 
yon,  and  J.  F.  Campbell. 

Eev.  James  Query  was  a  local  preacher  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and,  if  I  am  rightly 
informed,  preached  the  first  sermon  ever  preached 
where  Osceola  now  stands.  Brother  Query 
preached  in  private  houses  and  school-house  in 
Polk  County  long  before  a  circuit  was  organized. 
Under  his  faithful  labors  many  revivals  took 
place,  and  many  souls  were  saved.  His  crown 
of  rejoicing  in  the  heavenly  world  will  not  be 
without  stars.  On  the  foundations  laid  by  him 
others  are  now  building. 

In  1875  we  had  a  small  society  here,  but  no 
Church.  J.  H.  Mickey,  L.  J.  Blowers,  and 
Brother  Campbell  were  at  the  front,  leading  on 
the  little  band  of  Christians.  These  noble  men 
are  still  at  the  front,  just  as  zealous,  devoted, 
and  active  as  ever.  It  is  not  surprising  that,  with 
such    men    to    lead   a    city  and   Church,  Osceola 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  289 

should  be  one  of  the  most  enterprising  cities,  and 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  one  of  the  best 
in  the  State. 

Our  quarterly  meetings  at  Osceola  were  al- 
ways "  seasons  of  refreshing  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord."     I  shall  never  forget  them. 

The  place  where  Risiug  City  now  stands  was 
then  a  farm,  owned  and  cultivated  by  Albert 
Rising.  Brother  Samuel  W.  Rising  came  to  Ne- 
braska in  1870,  and  pre-empted  the  land  ad- 
joining the  city  of  Rising,  where  he  still  lives. 
His  sons  took  land  adjoining  their  father^s;  the 
city  was  located  on  their  land,  and  named  in 
honor  of  them.  They  are  all  active  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Often  while 
traveling  the  district  I  was  hospitably  enter- 
tained by  these  large-hearted  Christians,  and  I 
shall  never  forget  their  kindness.  We  now  have 
a  splendid  church  and  a  large  and  flourishing  so- 
ciety at  Rising  City. 

David  City  was  then  in  the  Omaha  District. 
It  is  situated  upon  the  beautiful  table-land  near 
the  center  of  Butler  County.  It  was  designated 
as  the  county-seat  in  1873,  at  which  time  it  was 
nothing  more  than  a  broad  expanse  of  level 
prairie.  I  passed  over  the  spot  where  the  city 
now  stands  long  before  there  was  a  single  house. 

The  first  sermon  ever  preached  here  was  in 
1871,  and,    I   think,  was  preached    by  Rev.  D. 

25 


290  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

Marquette  in  the  private  house  of  Captain  A.  F. 
Coon.  At  the  same  time  a  class  was  organized, 
composed  of  a  few  members.  In  1876,  under 
the  labors  of  Rev.  A.  J.  Combs,  a  small  church 
w^as  built,  and  on  the  5th  day  of  March  I  preached 
the  dedicatory  sermon,  and  consecrated  the 
house  to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God.  This 
church  was  afterwards  enlarged,  and  at  length 
gave  way  to  the  present  elegant  structure.  The 
dedication  took  place  in  grasshopper  times.  While 
taking  up  the  collection,  a  man,  standing  away 
back  by  the  door,  said:  "If  I  thought  the  grass- 
hoppers would  not  come  and  destroy  my  crops 
again  next  year,  I  would  give  twenty-five  dol- 
lars." I  said  in  reply:  "  That  is  just  the  thing 
to  do  in  order  to  keep  the  grasshoppers  away ;'' 
and  then  I  quoted  the  words  of  Malachi :  "  Bring 
ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there 
may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and  prove  me 
now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I 
will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven,  and 
pour  you  out  a  blessing  that  there  shall  not  be 
room  enough  to  receive  it.  And  I  will  rebuke 
the  devourer  for  your  sakes.^^  He  gave  the  twenty- 
five  dollars,  and  the  following  year  the  grass- 
hoppers did  but  little  harm. 

At  that  time  the  outlook  for  Methodism  in 
Omaha  was  not  the  most  hopeful.  Dr.  L.  F. 
Britt  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  First  Church. 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  291 

This  church  had  been  laboring  for  years  under  a 
constantly  accumulating  and  burdensome  debt, 
and  was  just  ready  to  succumb  to  the  fearful 
pressure  when  the  Doctor  took  charge.  The 
property  all  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  creditors 
during  the  year,  and  the  society  was  left  without 
any  property,  save  the  furniture  of  the  church 
and  parsonage.  But,  notwithstanding  the  deplor- 
able condition  of  the  finances,  and  the  gloomy 
outlook  generally,  under  God  the  Doctor  had  a 
gracious  revival  of  religion,  and  seventy-five 
members  were  added  to  the  Church.  The  next 
year,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  H.  D.  Fisher, 
a  new  lot  was  purchased,  a  frame  building  was 
erected,  and  the  First  Methodist  Church  started 
anew  ;  and  to-day  this  church  has  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  imposing  structures  in  the 
city. 

Although  the  sad  effects  of  the  grasshopper 
raid  were  felt  all  over  the  Conference,  the  year 
was  one  of  prosperity  on  all  lines  of  Church- 
work. 

The  next  Conference  met  at  Falls  City  Octo- 
ber 4,  1876,  Bishop  Foster  presiding.  On  Sun- 
day morning  the  bishop  preached  from  Gal.  iv, 
4,  5  :  ^*  But  when  the  fullness  of  the  time  was 
come,  God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman, 
made  under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were 
under  the  law.''     His  theme  was  the   fulfillment 


292  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

of  prophecy  touching  the  advent  of  Christ. 
When  he  announced  his  subject  we  were  not  a 
little  disappointed,  and  said :  '^  Well,  is  it  possi- 
ble he  is  going  to  preach  to  us  on  that  thread- 
bare subject?''  It  was  a  subject  we  had  all  gone 
over  time  and  again  in  our  text-books,  and  we 
did  not  care  to  hear  a  sermon  on  the  old,  dry 
theme.  But  the  bishop  had  proceeded  but  a 
short  time  until  we  were  perfectly  satisfied  with 
the  theme  selected.  That  familiar  subject  was 
presented  in  a  new  light.  It  was  clothed  with  a 
beauty  and  power  such  as  we  had  never  seen 
or  heard.  The  discourse  was  a  perfect  chain  of 
argument  from  the  beginning  to  the  close,  and  at 
the  same  time  was  glowing  with  fervent  heat.  It 
was  "logic  on  fire"  all  the  way  through.  He 
made  a  statement  at  the  outset  that  shocked  many 
for  the  moment,  and  seemed  to  savor  a  little  of 
the  braggadocio.  He  said  in  substance  :  "  I  in- 
tend to  make  an  argument  to-day  that  hell  can 
not  overthrow.''  And  when  he  reached  the 
climax,  and  had  driven  and  clinched  the  last 
nail  in  his  argument,  every  one  in  the  vast  con- 
gregation felt  he  had  made  good  his  promise.  A 
citizen  of  Falls  City,  whom  I  had  known  well 
for  years,  heard  the  bishop  until  he  was  about 
two-thirds  of  the  way  through,  when  he  left  the 
house.  He  afterwards  said  to  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Conference  :  "  I  had  no  idea  you  had 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  293 

such  arguments  to  prove  the  truth  of  Christianity. 
I  remained  as  long  as  I  could.  A  very  peculiar 
feeling  came  over  me,  such  as  I  had  never  felt 
before,  and  I  was  obliged  to  leave  the  house  be- 
fore the  bishop  closed.'^  Poor  man !  It  seemed 
he  -did  not  know  what  was  the  matter.  We 
knew;  he  was  smitten  by  the  mighty  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  He  was  convicted  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  "  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of 
judgment."  Whether  he  ever  yielded  and  gave 
his  heart  to  God  or  not,  we  never  learned. 

At  the  end  of  one  year  we  moved  back  to 
Lincoln,  where  we  had  a  house  of  our  own,  and 
I  traveled  the  district  from  this  place.  This  ne- 
cessitated my  being  absent  from  home  much  of 
the  time,  and  the  year  was  one  of  great  toil  and 
exposure. 

At  the  next  Conference,  which  met  at  the 
Eighteenth  Street  Church,  Omaha,  October  11, 
1877,  we  w^ere  appointed  to  the  Nebraska  City 
District.  This  was  my  second  term  on  this  dis- 
trict, having  traveled  it  from  1861  to  1865.  I 
was  again  on  old  territory,  although  the  most  of 
the  people  were  new  and  strange. 

I  shall  never  forget  a  quarterly  meeting  held 
at  Highland,  a  few  miles  west  o  Peru.  With 
great  care  and  much  prayer  I  had  prepared  a 
sermon  especially  for  the  unconverted,  and  I 
hoped  to  be  able,  under  God,  to  reach  their  hearts. 


294  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Saturday  afternoon  we  had  a  good  congregation 
composed  of  members  of  the  Church,  and  I 
preached  a  sermon  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 
Sunday  morning  came.  The  weather  was  forbid- 
ding, and  a  storm  was  evidently  brewing.  A 
goodly  number  were  at  the  love-feast,  and  we  had 
an  excellent  meeting.  The  meeting  had  hardly 
commenced  when  it  began  to  rain,  and  the  rain  in- 
creased throughout  the  whole  service,  and  at  the 
close  was  literally  pouring  down.  From  the  way 
the  storm  raged  we  knew  very  well  that  all  were 
present  that  could  come.  But  then  my  sermon 
was  not  appropriate  for  the  congregation  at  all. 
It  was  for  sinners,  and  all  present  were  Christians. 
It  would  not  do  for  me  to  preach  to  the  uncon- 
verted alone,  when  there  was  not  a  single  uncon- 
verted person  present  in  the  congregation.  For 
the  life  of  me  I  could  not  think  of  a  single  thing 
to  preach  that  would  in  any  way  be  appropriate. 
I  thought  of  the  advice  in  our  excellent  Book  of 
Discipline,  "Always  suit  your  subject  to  your 
audience,'^  and  for  a  moment  my  brain  fairly 
whirled.  Silently  I  breathed  an  ejaculatory 
prayer  to  God  for  light  and  help.  I  opened  my 
satchel,  took  out  my  portfolio,  and  ran  hurriedly 
over  some  skeletons  of  sermons,  when  my  eyes 
fell  upon  one  from  the  text,  "Ye  are  complete  in 
him.''  Something  seemed  to  say  :  "  That 's  the 
sermon  for  you  to  preach."     Afterwards  I  knew 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  295 

well  that  voice  was  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  looked 
over  the  sketch,  and  almost  instantly  the  Avhole 
sermon  rose  vividly  before  my  mind.  It  stood 
out  beautifully  in  bold  relief  before  me.  I  was 
satisfied.  I  said  to  myself:  ^^This  is  what  God 
wants  me  to  preach  from.''  The  opening  services 
over,  I  announced  my  text,  and  began  to  talk. 
As  I  proceeded  with  the  subject  my  soul  warmed. 
My  mind  was  wonderfully  illuminated,  and  my 
heart  strangely  fired.  My  tongue  was  as  "  the 
pen  of  a  ready  writer."  O  how  easy  it  was  to 
talk !  It  is  always  easy  when  under  the  divine 
afflatus — when  the  Holy  Ghost  inspires,  and 
warms,  and  fires.  It  was  all  of  God,  and  it  was 
marvelous  to  me  and  to  others  as  well.  Having 
talked  about  forty  minutes,  I  saw  to  my  right  a 
man  whispering  to  his  wife.  I  did  not  know 
what  it  meant.  I  afterwards  learned  that  he  was 
trying  to  get  his  wife  to  go  with  him  to  the  altar 
jand  seek  for  heart-purity.  Presently  he  arose, 
slipped  around  just  in  front  of  me,  and  fell  upon 
bis  knees  at  the  altar.  Then  I  said:  "If  there 
are  any  others  here  to-day  who  are  not  satisfied 
with  their  religious  experience,  and  desire  ^  full 
salvation,'  come  to  the  altar  while  I  continue  to 
talk."  Instantly  his  wife  followed,  and  in  a  few 
moments  the  railing  all  around  the  altar  was 
lilled.  I  continued  to  talk  for  about  ten  min- 
utes, then  we  had  an  hour  of   prayer  and  song 


296  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

and  testimony.  Such  a  precious  hour !  Its 
memory  lingers  with  me  to-day.  A  number 
on  that  stormy  day  received  the  witness  that 
"the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all 
sin.'' 

The  General  Conference  of  1880  formed  the 
West  Nebraska  Mission,  which  included  the 
greater  part  of  the  Kearney  District.  Dr.  T.  B. 
Lemon  had  served  the  Kearney  District  as  pre- 
siding elder  for  two  years,  and  no  man  was  better 
acquainted  with  the  needs  of  that  vast  and  rap- 
idly growing  territory  than  he.  He  was  ap- 
pointed superintendent  of  the  mission,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  until  the  mission  was  organized  into 
the  West  Nebraska  Conference  in  1885.  The  touch 
of  the  Doctor's  molding  hand  was  felt  through- 
out the  entire  western  part  of  the  State. 

The  same  General  Conference  passed  an  en- 
abling act,  granting  the  Nebraska  Conference  the 
privilege  of  dividing  during  the  next  four  years, 
by  a  majority  vote  of  the  members,  and  the  bishop 
presiding  concurring. 

At  the  Conference  held  in  York,  beginning 
September  14,  1881,  the  following  resolution  was 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  39  to  32 : 

^^  Resolved,  That  under  the  enabling  act  of  the 
last  General  Conference,  we  deem  it  wise  at  this 
time  to  divide  the  Nebraska  Conference  into  the 


FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  DISTRICT  WORK.  297 

Nebraska  and  North   Nebraska  Conferences,  the 
Platte  River  to  be  the  boundary-line." 

The  most  of  the  members  of  the  Conference 
living  north  of  the  Platte  River  voted  against 
the  division.  The  question  had  been  agitated 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  it  was  thought  best 
not  to  delay  the  matter  longer.  Time  has  proved 
that  the  action  of  the  Conference  was  eminently 
wise. 


298  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS. 
Their  Origin — Depredations  in  All  Ages — An  Atheist 

RENOUNCES     HIS      AtHEISM — WONDERFUL     ANSWERS     TO 

Prayer — A  Touching  Incident — Another  Atheist 
CHANGED  —  Annie  Wittenmyer — Assistance  from 
the  East — Mrs.  M.  E.  Roberts — Reflex  Influence 
of  Work  done  for  Others — Man's  Weakness  and 
God's  Power. 

THE  year  1875  is  memorable  in  the  annals  of 
Nebraska.  Those  who  lived  in  the  State  at 
that  time  will  never  forget  it.  That  year  the 
State  was  visited  with  what  is  known  as  the 
*^  grasshopper  plagne."  The  grasshoppers,  which 
were  so  destructive  to  the  crops,  were  a  species 
of  locust.  They  appeared  first  in  1874,  but  were 
more  destructive  in  1875,  and  they  did  more  or 
less  damage  in  1876  and  1877.  They  were  na- 
tives of  the  high  and  dry  regions  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  north  of  latitude  forty-three.  Here, 
whenever  the  conditions  are  favorable,  they  lay 
their  eggs,  and  the  young  are  hatched  in  such 
vast  numbers  as  utterly  to  astound  those  who 
have  never  had  any  experience  with  them.  They 
can  not  long  endure  low  and  moist  regions  com- 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  299 

bined  with  extreme  and  sudden  changes  of  tem- 
perature, and  for  this  reason  Nebraska  can  never 
become  the  permanent  habitation  of  the  grass- 
hopper. In  the  spring  of  1877  millions  of  them 
were  hatched  out,  then  followed  rains  and  sudden 
changes  of  temperature,  and  in  a  little  while  they 
nearly  all  disappeared,  having  done  very  little 
damage  to  the  crops. 

History  informs  us  that  in  all  ages,  the  locusts, 
of  which  the  grasshopper  is  a  species,  have  com- 
mitted great  depredations.  Locusts  were  one  of 
the  plagues  sent  upon  the  Egyptians.  "  Moses 
stretched  forth  his  rod  over  the  land  of  Egypt, 
and  the  Lord  brought  an  east  wind  upon  the  land 
all  that  day,  and  all  that  night  f  ,  ,  .  ''  and 
the  east  wind  brought  the  locusts.  They  covered 
the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  so  that  the  land  was 
darkened;  and  they  did  eat  every  herb  of  the 
land,  and  all  the  fruit  of  the  trees  which  the  hail 
had  left ;  and  there  remained  not  any  green  thing 
in  the  trees,  or  in  the  herbs  of  the  field,  through 
all  the  land  of  Egypt.''  (Exodus  x,  13-15.)  ^^And 
the  Lord  turned  a  mighty  strong  west  wind, 
which  took  away  the  locusts,  and  cast  them  into 
the  Red  Sea"  (verse  19). 

They  came  with  the  wind,  and  disappeared  with 
the  wind.  So  with  the  grasshoppers  of  Nebraska. 
They  came  with  the  strong  wind,  and  disappeared 
with  the  same.    They  travel  only  when  the  wind 


300  SOLITA  R  Y  PL  A  CES  MADE  GLAD. 

is  strong  and  in  the  right  direction.  Rising  high 
in  the  air,  with  their  wings  spread,  the  wind 
carries  them  along  with  but  very  little  effort  on 
their  part. 

Mr.  Volney,  in  his  "  Travels  in  Syria,"  gives  an 
account  of  the  awful  ravages  of  the  locusts: 
"  Syria  partakes,  together  with  Egypt  and  Persia, 
and  almost  all  the  whole  middle  part  of  Asia,  in 
that  terrible  scourge.  I  mean  those  clouds  of  lo- 
custs of  which  travelers  have  spoken ;  the  quantity 
of  which  is  incredible  to  any  person  who  has  not 
himself  seen  them.  When  these  clouds  of  locusts 
take  their  flight  in  order  to  surmount  some  obsta- 
cle, or  the  more  rapidly  to  cross  some  desert,  one 
may  literally  say  that  the  sun  is  darkened  by  them  J' 
Dr.  Adam  Clarke  quotes  from  Baron  de  Tott,  who 
gives  a  similar  account  of  them  :  "Clouds  of  lo- 
custs frequently  alight  on  the  plains  of  the  Tartars, 
and,  giving  preference  to  their  fields  of  millet, 
ravage  them  in  an  instant.  Their  approach  dark- 
ens the  horizon,  and  so  enormous  is  their  multi- 
tude, it  hides  the  light  of  the  sun.  They  alight 
on  the  fields,  and  there  form  a  bed  of  six  or  seven 
inches  thick."  The  graphic  description,  given  of 
the  grasshoppers,  by  these  travelers,  agree  with 
the  accounts  given  by  Moses  and  Joel,  and  are  in 
harmony  with  our  observation  and  experience  in 
Nebraska.  In  1874,  in  the  high  and  dry  regions 
above  referred  to,  they  were  hatched  by  the  mill- 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  301 

ions,  and  when  large  enough  to  migrate,  they  left 
their  native  land  and  swooped  down  upon  the 
green  fields  of  Nebraska,  destroying  almost  every 
green  thing.  They  came  in  such  vast  numbers 
that  they  appeared,  at  times,  like  a  cloud.  I  have 
seen  large  fields  of  corn  completely  destroyed  in 
a  few  hours,  and  immense  wheat-fields  eaten  up  in 
a  day.  Sometimes  they  would  settle  down  upon 
a  field  of  corn  so  thick,  they  would  completely 
cover  every  stalk  from  the  root  to  the  tassel ;  the 
ground  beneath  would  be  perfectly  black  with 
them,  and  in  places  they  would  be  from  one  to 
four  inches  deep.  Large  fields  of  corn,  just  be- 
ginning to  ripen,  whicli  at  noon  appeared  green 
and  beautiful,  before  sundown  would  be  entirely 
destroyed,  and  nothing  remain  but  the  naked 
stalks.  And  woe  be  to  the  gardens  they  entered ! 
A  garden-patch  was  their  delight.  Turnips,  rad- 
ishes, beets,  carrots,  and  everything  in  the  bulb 
line  was  entirely  destroyed.  The  inside  of  these 
vegetables  was  all  eaten  out,  and  nothing  but  the 
skin,  or  rind,  remained.  Tansy,  red-pepper,  and 
onions  were  their  peculiar  favorites. 

Sometimes  the  women  would  tie  up  their  cab- 
bage and  cauliflower  with  paper  sacks  and  cloths, 
in  order  to  save  them,  but  these  wrappings  could 
no  more  stop  their  ravages  than  a  straw  could 
dam  up  the  Mississippi  River.  They  would  eat 
through  the  paper  and  cloth  almost  as  quick  as 


302  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

you  could  penetrate  them  with  a  sharp  knife. 
Every  green  thing  gave  way  before  them.  The 
awful  description  given  by  the  Prophet  Joel  of 
the  locusts  of  his  day,  most  aptly  illustrates  the 
grasshopper  scourge  of  Nebraska  in  1875.  He 
likens  them  to  a  mighty  nation.  "  A  nation  is 
come  upon  my  land,  strong  and  without  number, 
whose  teeth  are  the  teeth  of  a  lion.  He  hath 
laid  my  vine  waste,  and  barked  my  fig-tree :  he 
hath  made  it  clean  bare,  and  cast  it  away ;  the 
branches  thereof  are  made  white. ^^  (Joel  i,  6,  7.) 
The  above  is  a  most  fitting  illustration  of  the 
grasshopper  plague.  They  were  indeed  ^Svithout 
number.''  Their  teeth  were  more  to  be  dreaded 
than  "  the  teeth  of  a  lion."  Not  only  were  green 
fields  and  beautiful  gardens  "  made  clean  bare," 
but  orchards  and  hedges  were  stripped  of  their 
foliage,  peeled,  "made  white,"  and  withered  and 
died.  The  prophet  continues  his  graphic  and 
awful  description  of  the  locust  plague :  "  The 
field  is  wasted,  the  land  mourneth  ;  for  the  corn  is 
wasted  :  the  new  wine  is  dried  up,  the  oil  lan- 
guisheth"  (verse  10).  "A  day  of  darkness  and 
of  gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  of  thick  dark- 
ness." "A  fire  devoureth  before  them ;  and  be- 
hind them  a  flame  burneth  :  the  land  is  as  the 
garden  of  Eden  before  them,  and  behind  them  a 
desolate  wilderness ;  yea,  and  nothing  shall  escape 
them"  (ii,  2,  3).     "Before  their  face  the  people 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  303 

shall  be  much  'pained:  all  faces  shall  gather 
blackness  ^^  (verse  6). 

I  have  seen  with,  my  own  eyes,  many  beautiful 
farms,  which  were  as  the  "  garden  of  Eden  "  be- 
fore they  came,  but  in  a  few  hours  after  they 
came,  were  "a  desolate  wilderness."  I  have 
looked  upon  the  people  whose  hearts  were  "  much 
pained,"  and  whose  faces  "gathered  blackness," 
at  this  mighty  army  of  robbers.  Many  a  strong 
man's  heart  sunk  within  him,  as  he  saw  in  a  day, 
the  last  vestige  of  his  crop  destroyed,  and  the 
living  for  himself  and  family  for  the  next  year 
swept  away. 

An  atheist,  living  some  miles  north  of  Lincoln, 
had  his  entire  crop  destroyed  by  these  marauders. 
He  had  a  large  family.  Their  crop  was  their  only 
dependence  for  a  living  that  year.  Many  of  his 
neighbors  had  suffered  the  same  fate.  The  pros- 
pect for  an  abundant  harvest  never  had  been  bet- 
ter. But  the  grasshoppers  came  like  a  cloud, 
settled  down  upon  their  fields  and  gardens,  and 
in  a  few  hours  all  was  destroyed.  The  heart  of 
this  atheist  sank  within  him,  and  his  face  turned 
deathly  pale.  Shortly  after  the  dreadful  calamity, 
he  said  to  some  of  his  neighbors,  in  a  voice  trem- 
ulous with  emotion :  "  I  believe  there  is  a  God, 
and  if  God  do  n't  help  us,  I  do  n't  know  what  we 
shall  do."  His  atheism  and  infidelity  at  once  left 
him,  and   it  was   said  by  his   neighbors  that  he 


304  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

became  a  firm  believer  in  the  Christian  religion, 
and  never  afterwards  was  he  heard  to  utter  a 
single  word  against  the  existence  of  a  God  or  the 
truth  of  the  Christian  religion.  The  grasshopper 
scourge  led  many  to  see,  as  never  before,  how 
weak  and  helpless  man  is,  and  how  utterly  de- 
pendent he  is  upon  a  higher  power.  The  people 
were  greatly  humbled.  They  felt  that  "vain  is 
the  help  of  man.'^  They  were  led  to  see  clearly 
their  dependence  upon  God,  and  prayed  more 
earnestly  than  ever;  and  the  result  was,  many 
wonderful  revivals  of  religion.  The  people  never 
were  more  devoted  than  when  the  country  was 
devastated  by  the  grasshoppers.  Our  quarterly 
meetings  were  seasons  of  wonderful  power,  and 
God  overruled  this  great  scourge  for  the  people's 
welfare.  Great  material  prosperity  is  not  always 
conducive  to  deep  piety.  Financial  crashes,  ma- 
terial reverses,  and  failure  of  crops  are  often  the 
best  things  that  can  possibly  befall  a  people. 
Along  with  panics,  financial  reverses,  and  the 
failure  of  crops  have  swept  gracious  revivals  of 
religion. 

Brother  S.  P.  Vandoozer,  presiding  elder  of 
the  Covington  District,  related  the  following  in- 
cident to  Bishop  Bowman  and  the  cabinet  during 
the  Conference  held  in  Omaha,  in  1875:  "A  pious 
family,  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco[)al 
Church,  lived  in  the  bounds  of  his  district.    They 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  305 

were  firm  believers  in  the  power  of  prayer.  About 
twelve  o'clock,  one  beautiful  day  in  August,  the 
grasshoppers  settled  down  upon  their  field  of 
corn.  The  corn  was  black' with  the  devouring 
insects.  The  wife  was  at  home  alone.  She  knew 
very  well  if  they  remained  a  few  hours  the  corn 
would  be  entirely  destroyed.  This  corn  was  their 
only  dependence  for  a  living  for  the  year.  When 
she  saw  them  settle  down  upon  the  corn,  she  went 
into'  the  house,  kneeled  down,  and  prayed.  She 
told  God  that  the  corn  was  their  only  hope  for  a 
living  that  year,  and  earnestly  asked  him,  for  the 
sake  of  his  Son,  to  cause  the  grasshoppers  to  leave, 
and  while  she  prayed  her  faith  took  hold  on  God, 
and  she  said  to  herself:  ^They  will  leave.'  She 
arose  from  her  knees,  went  out  of  the  house,  and 
there  the  grasshoppers  were,  eating  away  like 
ravenous  wolves  devouring  their  prey.  Her  faith 
began  to  waver,  and  she  w^ent  back  into  the  house, 
fell  upon  her  knees  and  began  again  to  pray,  and 
while  she  prayed  was  enabled  to  grasp  the  prom- 
ise, 'Ask  of  me  whatsoever  thou  writ,  and  I  will 
give  it  thee.'  She  said  to  herself:  'They  certainly 
will  go.'  She  arose,  went  out  and  looked,  and 
lo !  they  were  still  there,  eating  away  as  ever. 
She  watched  them  a  little  while  and  her  faith 
began  the  second  time  to  give  way.  She  rushed 
back  into  the  house,  fell  upon  her  knees  the  third 

time,  and  began  to  pray  more  earnestly  than  ever 

26 


306         SOLITARY  PLAGES  MADE  GLAD. 

that  God  might  remove  the  scourge,  and  as  she 
prayed,  she  again  grasped  the  promise  with  an 
unyielding  grip,  and  said  :  '  They  will  go/  She 
arose,  Avent  out  and  gazed  for  some  moments  upon 
the  destroyers.  Although  there  were  no  signs 
whatever  of  their  leaving,  her  faith  did  not  waver 
in  the  least.  She  said  to  herself,  as  she  looked 
upon  the  destroyers,  and  listened  to  the  crackling 
of  the  corn  as  this  mighty  army  made  way  with 
it:  ^They  will  leave,  they  will  leave.^  In  a  very 
little  while  they  began  to  rise,  slowly  at  first, 
then  more  rapidly,  then  all  of  them,  like  a  mighty 
cloud,  arose  and  passed  away.  While  the  neigh- 
bors' crops  all  around  them  were  entirely  destroyed, 
their  field  of  corn  was  unharmed.  It  stood  alone 
in  the  neighborhood,  a  monument  of  the  mighty 
power  of  prayer.'^  The  next  day  Bishop  Bowman 
preached  on  "The  Tyndall  Prayer-test,''  and 
during  the  sermon  related  the  above  incident, 
while  tears  rained  from  many  eyes,  and  loud  shouts 
of  "Glory  to  God"  were  heard  all  over  the  con- 
gregation. 

That  year,  two  families  living  near  where 
Fairmont  now  stands,  with  many  others,  had  lost 
their  entire  crop  by  the  grasshoppers.  They 
were  poor,  and  had  come  to  Nebraska  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  themselves  homes.  They  took 
homesteads  near  the  railroad.  For  many  weeks 
they  had  lived  on  short  rations.     The  time  came 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  307 

when  the  last  cake  was  baked  and  the  last  mouth- 
ful eaten.  There  was  no  meal  in  the  barrel  and 
no  oil  in  the  cruse,  and  no  money  or  anything 
else  with  which  to  buy  more.  If  God  did  not 
feed  them  by  a  miracle,  as  he  did  Elijah  of  old, 
they  must  starve.  Elijah\s  God  was  their  God, 
and  in  him  they  trusted.  At  family  prayer  that 
morning  they  laid  their  wants  before  God,  and 
aslicd  him  to  come  to  their  assistance  and  supply 
their  needs.  That  day,  R.  R.  Randall,  now  a 
member  of  my  Church,  from  whom  I  obtained 
all  the  facts  connected  with  this  incident,  was  in 
charge  of  a  railroad  excursion  from  the  East. 
Among  the  excursionists  was  a  lady  who  was  a 
blatant  atheist.  She  denied  the  existence  of  a 
God,  denounced  the  Scriptures,  and  ridiculed  the 
idea  that  God  answers  prayer.  She  was  loud  in 
her  profession  of  atheism,  and  proud  of  her  in- 
fidelity. A  hot  box  compelled  the  engineer  to 
stop  the  train  in  sight  of  the  houses  of  these  poor 
families  about  noon  the  same  day  they  had  eaten 
the  last  mouthful  of  provisions.  While  waiting 
for  the  box  to  cool,  the  children  of  tbese  families 
came  out  to  the  train.  They  were  thinly  clad, 
and  their  garments  Avere  patched  until  they  were 
like  Joseph^s  coat  of  many  colors.  The  passen- 
gers got  out  of  the  coaches  and  gathered  around 
the  children,  and  began  to  ask  questions.  The 
children  told  them  the  artless  story  of  their  pov- 


308         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

erty.  They  said  they  had  eaten  the  last  mouth- 
ful of  provisions  that  morniug,  and  that  their 
parents  had  prayed  for  God  to  send  them  help, 
and  they  expected  God  would  answer  their  par- 
ents* prayers.  The  hearts  of  the  excursionists 
were  touched,  and  tears  were  seen  in  many  eyes, 
as  they  listened  to  the  simple  story  of  the  chil- 
dren. A  collection  was  at  once  taken,  and  it  was 
by  no  means  a  meager  one.  The  passengers  did 
not  hunt  for  the  smallest  piece  of  money  they  had. 
Silver  and  gold  and  greenbacks  were  poured  out 
in  abundance,  and  the  little  girls,  with  their 
aprons  full,  returned  with  joy  to  their  homes. 
The  infidel  lady  witnessed  the  touching  scene  with 
the  deepest  interest  and  the  greatest  emotion. 
And  when  all  was  over,  the  hot  box  cooled,  and 
the  train  about  to  move  on,  Brother  Randall  said 
to  her :  "  What  do  you  think  of  that  ?  Is  there 
a  God,  and  does  he  answer  prayer?'*  She  broke 
down,  the  tears  came  to  her  eyes,  and  she  said : 
**  I  never  saw  anything  like  it.  There  must  be  a 
God,  and  he  certainly  answers  prayer."  Her 
atheism  and  infidelity  at  once  took  wings  and 
flew  away,  and  the  belief  in  a  God  who  hears  and 
answers  prayer  took  possession  of  her  heart. 
To-day,  as  in  Elijah^s  day,  God  answers  prayer. 
I  held  a  quarterly  meeting  during  the  grass- 
hopper scourge,  at  Brother  Fair's,  in  Fillmore 
County.     It  was   in  August.      The  weather  was 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  309 

very  hot  and  dry.  There  had  been  no  rain  for 
weeks.  Everything  was  burning  up  with  the 
heat.  What  the  grasshoppers  did  not  eat,  it 
seemed  the  intense  dry  weather  would  destroy. 
On  Saturday  night,  at  family  prayer,  I  prayed 
that  God  might  send  a  shower  of  rain  upon  the 
dry  and  parched  earth.  About  midnight  one  of 
Brother  Fair's  boys  awoke  and  said  to  his  father : 
'^Pa,  it  is  going  to  rain.''  "What  makes  you 
think  so,  my  son?"  said  the  father.  "Because 
the  preacher  prayed  for  rain,  and  I  know  it  will 
rain."  How  wonderful  is  a  child's  faith !  If  we 
all  had  the  faith  of  children  we  would  have  many 
more  signal  answers  to  prayer  than  we  have,  and  ^ 
many  more  wonderful  demonstrations  of  the  Divine 
power.  Sure  enough,  true  to  the  child's  faith, 
the  rain  came.  Early  next  morning  the  rain 
literally  poured  down,  and  the  people  and  all 
nature  rejoiced  after  the  refreshing  shower.  A 
child's  faith,  how  simple  and  beautiful  it  is  ! 

"Mamma,"  said   a  little  child,  "I  prayed  for 
God  to  forgive  me,  and  he  heard  my  prayer." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?"  said  the  mother. 

"  Because  I  asked  him." 

A  wife  had  long  been  praying  for  her  uncon- 
verted husband.  At  times  her  distress  of  spirit 
was  so  great  that,  when  about  her  household 
duties,  her  troubled  countenance  was  sad  to  be- 
hold.    One  day  her  little  girl  of  seven  summers, 


310  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

seeing  her  arise  from  her  knees  with  the  same 
weary,  anxious  face,  ran  up  to  her  and  said: 
"Mamma,  won't  God  say  yes?*'  and  receiving  no 
answer,  she  asked  again :  "  Mamma,  why  won't 
God  say  yes?"  A  light  flashed  upon  the  woman's 
troubled  soul.  Had  she  prayed  in  faith  and 
humble  trust  in  the  Redeemer?  Then  she  said: 
"  Lord,  increase  my  faith ;"  and  then  she  offered 
the  prayer  of  faith,  and  then  her  glad  soul  re- 
joiced in  the  salvation  of  her  husband.  Her  little 
child  had  taught  her  how  to  offer  the  prayer  of 
faith.  From  the  children  we  learn  many  lessons. 
How  true,  "A  little  child  shall  lead  them !" 

About  this  time,  Mrs.  Annie  Wittenmyer  vis- 
ited Lincoln.  She  was  the  first  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Ladies'  and  Pastors'  Christian 
Union  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
was  at  this  time  laboring  in  the  interest  of  this 
society.  She  was  afterwards  president  of  the 
National  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union. 
The  active  part  she  took  in  hospital  work  during 
the  Civil  War,  in  administering  to  the  wants  of  the 
sick,  wounded,  and  dying  soldiers,  her  great  tal- 
ents, deep  piety,  and  untiring  energy  in  almost 
every  good  work,  won  for  her  a  national  reputa- 
tion. Many  in  the  great  day  of  eternity  will 
have  reason  to  praise  God  for  Annie  Wittenmyer. 
While  in  Lincoln,  we  had  the  privilege  of  enter- 
taining her  as  a  guest  at  our  own  home  a  short 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  3 1 1 

time.  And,  although  she  was  with  us  but  a  few 
hours,  and  sat  but  once  at  our  table,  that  delight- 
ful visit  will  never  be  forgotten.  We  let  no  time 
run  to  waste  while  she  was  present,  for  we  wanted 
to  get  all  the  information  from  her  we  possibly 
could.  We  asked  her  a  great  many  questions, 
which  were  answered  with  the  greatest  pleasure. 
She  was  past  fifty  years  old  before  she  did  any 
work  in  public.  She  gave  us  a  most  interesting 
account  of  her  maiden  speech.  It  was  delivered 
at  a  camp-meeting  in  the  East.  She  was  so 
frightened  that  two  ministers,  one  taking  hold 
of  her  right  arm  and  the  other  her  left,  had  to 
assist  her  in  getting  upon  a  bench,  where  she 
stood  and  talked  for  over  an  hour  to  the  people. 
To  her  it  was  a  memorable  occasion,  and  would 
never  be  forgotten.     I  said  to  her: 

^^We  ministers  sometimes  have  what  we  call 
liberty,  and  sometimes  we  do  not.  How  is  it 
with  you?  Do  you  always  have  liberty  when 
you  speak?'' 

"  O  no !''  was  the  reply.  "  About  two-thirds 
of  the  time  I  trailj  and  about  one-third  of  the 
time  speak  with  satisfaction  to  myself.  Some- 
times I  do  more  good,  however,  when  I  trail 
than  I  do  when  I  speak  with  ease  and  satis- 
faction.'' 

"How  is  that?"  said  I. 

"  Well,  I   will  tell   you.     About  a  year    ago 


312  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Brother  Cookman,  pastor  of  one  of  our  Churches 
in  New  York  City,  requested  me  to  speak  to  his 
people.  I  complied  with  the  request,  and  had 
a  most  delightful  time.  Brother  Cookman  was 
pleased,  his  people  were  pleased,  and  I  was 
pleased.  We  were  all  delighted.  Some  months 
afterward  he  requested  me  to  come  again  and 
talk  to  his  people,  and  I  went.  This  time,  how- 
ever, I  had  a  very  hard  time.  I  trailed  all  the 
way  through  my  speech.  When  I  went  into 
the  parsonage,  after  the  service,  I  said:  ^Well, 
Brother  Cookman,  I  had  a  hard  time  to-night;  I 
am  afraid  I  did  not  do  your  people  any  good  at 
all.'  ^O  yes.  Sister  Wittenmyer,  you  did  my  peo- 
ple more  good  to-night  than  you  did  when  you 
were  here  before.  When  you  were  here  before, 
my  people  said:  "O,  that  is  Sister  Wittenmyer; 
nobody  can  talk  like  her!"  and  they  went  away 
from  the  church  discouraged,  feeling  as  though 
they  never  would  try  to  do  anything,  because 
your  effort  was  so  far  superior  to  any  effort 
they  might  attempt  to  make ;  but  to-night  they 
said,  "Why,  almost  any  one  could  do  that 
well  V' ' '' 

I  remember  once  trying  to  preach  in  Lincoln 
on  Sunday  night.  I  felt  it  was  the  most  com- 
plete failure  I  had  ever  made  in  my  life.  I 
left  the  church  chagrined  and  mortified.  A  few 
mouths   afterward   I  met  a  man   in  Omaha  who 


GRASSHOPPE-R  IJ^IDENTS.  313 

heard  me  preach  that  sermon.  He  referred  to 
the  sermon  and  the  text,  and  said :  "  Under  that 
sermon  my  daughter  was  awakened  and  con- 
verted, and  has  been  living  a  faithful  Christian 
ever  since." 

A  minister  was  called  unexpectedly  one  even- 
ing to  preach  in  a  pulpit  not  his  own,  and  an- 
nounced as  his  text,  '^  Will  a  man  rob  God?''  He 
left  the  church  in  deep  depression,  with  a  sense 
of  utter  failure.  Sixteen  years  afterward,  when 
on  a  voyage,  a  stranger  accosted  him,  and,  calling 
him  by  name,  said :  "  I  am  heartily  glad  to  see 
you!  A  sermon  you  preached  sixteen  years 
ago — or,  rather,  the  text — was  the  means  of  my 
conversion.  I  went  to  church,  when  I  heard  you 
announce  as  your  text  ^  Will  a  man  rob  God  ?'  I 
was  a  young  man,  from  a  Christian  home,  just 
going  abroad  to  commence  my  life-work.  I  was 
meaning  some  time  ^to  be  obedient  to  the  heav- 
enly vision.'  That  text  revealed  God  to  me;  it 
brought  me  face  to  face  with  God."  He  saw 
God,  and  then  and  there  was  saved.  A  public 
speaker  does  not  always  know  when  he  is  doing 
the  most  good.  What  to  him  is  a  complete 
failure,  in  the  hand  of  God  may  be  a  perfect 
success. 

The  finances  of  the  society  for  which  Sister 
Wittenmyer  was  laboring  were   not   in   the  best 

condition  at  that  time,  and  Avhen  she  referred  to 

27 


314         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

the  matter  I,  said :  ^'  Do  n't  you  get  discouraged 
sometimes?" 

"  O  no/'  was  the  prompt  reply.  "  You  would 
not  get  discouraged  either  if  you  had  seen  what 
I  have  seen.  Let  me  give  you  an  incident/'  said 
she:  ^^Our  society  was  in  debt  some  three  hun- 
dred dollars.  We  ladies  planned  a  course  of  lec- 
tures, in  order  to  pay  off  that  debt.  We  secured 
several  of  the  best  and  most  noted  lecturers  in 
the  field,  and,  after  the  course  was  delivered,  we 
were  eight  dollars  worse  off  than  when  we  began. 
We  felt  badly.  A  number  of  the  ladies  were  dis- 
heartened. One  day  some  of  us  were  talking 
over  the  matter,  and  wondering  how  we  were  to 
liquidate  the  indebtedness,  when  Brother  Hughes 
came  up,  and  we  told  him  what  we  had  been 
talking  about  and  what  we  wanted.  He  said: 
'  Why  do  n't  you  ask  God  to  send  you  the 
money?'  *Sure  enough;  we  had  not  thought  of 
that.  We  will  ask  God  to  send  us  three  hundred 
dollars.'  ^  Ask  God  to  send  you  a  thousand !'  said 
Brother  Hughes.  So  we  agreed  together  to  pray 
for  a  thousand  dollars.  A  few  months  afterward 
the  two  New  York  Conferences  were  in  session. 
I  spoke  to  the  New  York  East  Conference  one 
night,  and  the  next  night  addressed  the  New 
York  Conference.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting, 
as  I  walked  down  the  aisle.  Brother  Remington 
met   me,  and   handed   me  a  check  for  one  thou- 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  315 

sand  dollars  for  our  society.  There  was  the  an- 
swer to  our  prayers.  I  could  give  you  other 
incidents  similar  to  this.  No,  I  do  not  get  dis- 
couraged." 

The  people  of  the  East  were  very  kind,  and 
money  and  clothing  in  large  amounts  were  given 
to  aid  the  grasshopper  sufferers.  Some  six  hun- 
dred dollars  were  sent  to  me  during  the  year, 
which  amount  I  gave  to  the  most  needy  on  my 
district.  An  emporium  was  established  in  Lincoln, 
where  large  quantities  of  clothing  were  stored, 
divided,  given,  and  sent  to  the  destitute.  I  knew 
of  many  families  on  my  district  who  were  very 
needy.  Mrs.  Davis  and  I  requested  Mrs.  M. 
E.  Roberts  to  help  us  in  selecting  clothing 
for  these  needy  ones.  We  spent  the  day  in  do- 
ing this,  and  Mrs.  Roberts  afterwards  declared 
that  it  was  the  most  delightful  day^s  work  she 
had  ever  done.  She  is  always  happy  when  she 
can  help  others.  While  engaged  in  this  work 
she  felt  conscious  she  was  rendering  invaluable 
service  to  the  suffering  poor.  Nothing  brings 
such  rich  joy  to  the  heart  as  the  work  of  bene- 
fiting others.  All  that  is  done  for  humanity  has 
a  reflex  influence.  While  it  goes  forth  to  benefit 
those  intended,  it  comes  back  with  a  richer  bless- 
ing to  the  benefactor.  Many  know  from  experi- 
ence the  truth  of  the  Savior's  words,  "  It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 


316  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

Many  of  the  preachers  of  my  district  were 
living  on  a  mere  pittance.  They  were  struggling 
hard  with  poverty — barely  able  to  keep  the  wolf 
from  the  door.  I  knew  well  their  needs.  Flan- 
nels and  muslins  and  calicoes  were  carefully  di- 
vided, that  all  might  share  equally,  and  certain 
garments  were  carefully  laid  aside  for  Brothers  A 
and  B  and  C.  While  carefully  assorting  the 
goods,  Sister  Roberts  came  across  a  beautiful  pair 
of  lavender  kid-gloves,  and,  holding  them  up  in 
her  hand,  said:  '^O  see  here,  what  a  lovely  pair 
of  gloves  I  have  found!  To  whom  shall  we 
give  them?''  We  thought  of  Sister  A  and  then 
of  Sister  B.  We  suggested  first  one  and  then 
another.  "  Lavender  kid-gloves  !  lavender  kid- 
gloves  !  For  whom  would  they  be  appropriate  ?'' 
We  were  at  a  loss  to  know.  What  did  grasshop- 
per sufferers  need  of  lavender  kid-gloves?  We 
discussed  the  matter  pro  and  con  for  some  time, 
but  could  not  decide  who  should  have  them. 

Sister  Roberts  afterward  said :  "  We  Avere  a 
little  like  the  Sanitary  Commissioners  in  the  South 
during  the  war.  Among  the  many  things  sent  to 
relieve  the  wants  of  the  suffering  soldiers  was  a 
box  of  paper  collars.  The  commissioners  were 
very  much  perplexed  to  know  what  to  do  with 
them.  For  whom  they  would  be  appropriate 
they  knew  not.  Finally  they  sent  them  bsl'ck, 
saying :  '  We   have  fried  them,  and  boiled  them, 


GRASSHOPPER  INCIDENTS.  317 

and  baked  them,  and  we  can  not  do  anything 
with  them;  so  we  send  them  back  to  you."^ 
Whatever  became  of  the  lavender  kid-gloves  I 
do  not  know  to  this  day;  but  we  could  find  no 
earthly  use  for  them. 

In  the  grasshopper  plague  we  have  an  illus- 
tration of  the  wonderful  influence  and  power  of 
little  things.  A  snow-flake  is  a  little  thing. 
Who  cares  for  one  snow-flake  ?  But  a  whole  day 
of  snow-flakes,  drifting  over  the  fences,  blocking 
up  the  roads,  and  gathering  upon  the  mountain- 
sides, to  crush  in  awful  avalanches,  who  does  not 
care  for  that?  A  spark  of  fire  is  a  little  thing. 
Who  cares  for  a  spark  of  fire  ?  A  drop  of  water 
may  extinguish  it;  a  touch  with  the  foot  or  hand 
may  put  it  out.  But  drop  that  spark  of  fire  in 
the  grass  on  a  dry  and  windy  day,  and  soon  it 
becomes  a  rolling  wave  of  flame ;  and  fences  and 
hay-stacks,  and  barns  and  houses  melt  away  be- 
fore the  devouring  element.  One  of  the  most 
fearful  of  all  things  is  a  prairie-fire  on  a  dry  and 
windy  day.  It  sweeps  everything  before  it,  and 
its  track  is  marked  by  desolation  and  gloom.  A 
grasshopper  is  a  little  thing.  Who  cares  for  such 
a  tiny  insect?  But  millions  on  millions  of  grass- 
hoppers, flying  like  a  cloud,  and  settling  down 
upon  fields  and  gardens,  literally  covering  every- 
thing, who  does  not  care  for  them?  A  woman 
whose  corn  had  all  been  destroyed  by  them  said : 


318  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

"I  Avould  not  have  felt  so  badly  if  a  drove  of 
buifaloes  had  entered  the  field  and  eaten  up  my 
corn ;  but  to  have  it  all  destroyed  in  a  few  hours 
by  such  insignificant  things  as  grasshoppers  is 
really  aggravating/^ 

The  grasshoppers  brought  gloom  and  sadness 
to  many  a  home  and  many  a  heart,  and  we  have 
no  desire  at  all  to  see  them  again ;  yet,  under  an 
overruling  providence,  they  were  not  without 
profit  to  many  of  the  people.  Man's  weakness 
and  God's  power  were  seen  in  a  light  never  be- 
fore manifested.  Without  the  intervention  of 
Almighty  God,  man  is  at  the  mercy,  in  spite  of 
all  his  knowledge  and  power,  of  a  little,  insignifi- 
cant insect.  Many  were  led  to  cry  out  with 
David :  "  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  to  the  hills, 
from  whence  cometh  my  help.  My  help  cometh 
from  the  Lord,  which  made  heaven  and  earth." 


BEATRICE.  319 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

BEATRICE. 

Location — Founded  in  1857 — Emigrants  on  a  Missouri 
Steamer  organize  a  Colony — Beatrice  in  1861 — Al- 
bert TowLE — Governor  Butler — First  Homestead — 
First  Methodist  Preacher — First  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing —  Indians  —  Terrible  Massacre  —  The  Great 
Change. 

BEATRICE,  the  county-seat  of  Gage  County, 
is  one  of  the  beautiful  cities  of  Nebraska, 
and  is  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Blue  River, 
one  of  the  lovely  streams  of  the  State.  It  is  forty 
miles  south  of  Lincoln,  the  capital  of  Nebraska, 
and  some  seventy  miles  west  of  the  Missouri 
River.  It  was  founded  in  1857,  and  named  Be- 
atrice in  honor  of  Judge  Kinney's  daughter.  It 
is  supposed  that  the  name  was  originally  derived 
from  the  beautiful  woman  whom  Dante  has  im- 
mortalized in  his  poems,  and  the  object  of  his  de- 
votion. One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  women,  she 
was  the  emblematical  personification  of  divine 
wisdom.  It  was  the  thought  of  her  lover  that  a 
being  so  pure  and  lovely  could  not  stay  long  on 
the  earth.  God  seemed  to  have  created  her  for 
one  of  his  angels,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-four 


320  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

years  took  her  to  himself  in  heaven.  The  name, 
Beatrice,  suggests  beauty,  purity,  and  wisdom. 
"Whether  the  city  of  Beatrice  can  claim  all  these 
admirable  traits  or  not,  is  a  question.  One  thing 
is  certain,  however,  it  can  claim  the  first-named — 
beauty.  Its  location  can  not  be  surpassed  in 
loveliness,  and  we  may  truthfully  say :  "  Beauti- 
ful for  situation,  the  joy  of  the  whole  ^\ people,  is 
Beatrice. 

In  the  spring  of  1857,  a  steamer  Aveighed 
anchor  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  floated  out  into  the 
center  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and,  with  her 
prow  set  for  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri,  be- 
gan slowly  to  move  up  against  the  mighty  cur- 
rent of  the  "  Father  of  Waters.^'  On  board  of 
that  steamer  were  some  three  hundred  passen- 
gers,— many  of  them  the  deluded  followers  of 
Brigham  Young.  Their  faces  were  turned  to  the 
"  city  of  Zion,"  located  in  a  safe  retreat  amid  the 
mountain  fastnesses  of  the  far-away  West.  Others 
were  looking  to  the  plains  of  "  bleeding  Kansas," 
while  quite  a  number  had  their  eyes  fixed  on  the 
new  and  inviting  Territory  of  Nebraska. 

The  Missouri  River  is  full  of  snags  and  sand- 
bars, and  is  a  very  dangerous  stream  to  navigate. 
As  this  steamer  moved  slowly  up  the  turbid  and 
treacherous  stream,  nearing  Kansas  City,  she 
struck  a  sand-bar,  stuck  fast,  and  remained  for 
some  time.     This  was  not  the  first  time,  however, 


BEATRICE.  321 

the  steamer  had  grounded,  yet  this  was  the 
most  serious  accident  of  the  kind  on  that  mem- 
orable voyage.  While  the  boat  lay  upon  that 
sand-bar,  and  the  weary  hours  passed  by,  to  break 
the  monotony  and  relieve  the  restlessness  of  the 
passengers,  a  colony  was  organized,  from  among 
the  passengers,  for  the  purpose  of  locating  in  Ne- 
braska. That  organization  framed  a  constitution 
and  by-laws,  and  thirty-five  persons  signed  the 
written  agreement.  Among  the  signers  of  that 
instrument  were  Albert  Towle,  J.  B.  Weston, 
Judge  John  F.  Kinney,  and  others  who  have 
since  occupied  positions  of  trust  and  honor  in  the 
State.  This  colony  located,  platted,  and  named 
the  city  of  Beatrice. 

As  stated  elsewhere,  in  1861  I  was  appointed 
to  the  Nebraska  City  District,  which  comprised 
all  the  territory  south  of  the  Platte  River ;  and 
Beatrice  w^as  one  of  my  appointments.  I  first 
visited  the  place  in  1861.  At  that  time  there  was 
a  blacksmith-shop,  a  store,  kept  by  Joseph 
Saunders,  with  about  as  many  goods  as  two  or 
4:hree  men  could  carry  in  their  arms,  and  three 
or  four  dwelling-houses.  During  my  first  visit 
to  the  pla(;e  I  was  kindly  entertained  by  Brother 
Albert  Towle  and  his  estimable  wife,  and  ever 
afterwards  met  a  royal  welcome  at  their  hospita- 
ble home.  Their  house  was  always  the  home  of 
the  Methodist  itinerant.     They  worked  hard  and 


322  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

made  sacrifices  for  the  Church.  To  them,  more 
than  any  other  two  perhaps,  is  due  the  credit  and 
honor  of  laying  the  foundations  of  the  Church  in 
the  city  of  Beatrice.  Although  Brother  Towle 
was  not  a  member  of  the  Church,  he  was  as  moral 
and.  upright  in  his  walk  as  any  who  were  mem- 
bers; and  when  he  came  to  die  gave  assurances 
to  his  family  that  he  was  prepared  to  go.  Sister 
Towle  told  the  writer  that  her  husband  said  to 
her  not  long  before  he  passed  away  that  perhaps 
he  had  made  a  mistake  in  not  joining  the  Church, 
and  if  he  had  his  life  to  live  over  again  he  would 
connect  himself  with  the  Church.  While  I  be- 
lieve there  are  many  good  Christians  out  of  the 
Church,  and  many  who  have  lived  and  died 
Christians  who  never  belonged  to  any  Church  or- 
ganization, still  I  believe  it  is  far  better  for  us 
personally,  and  our  influence  for  good  will  be 
much  greater  if  connected  with  the  Church  than 
otherwise.  The  Church  was  instituted  for  our 
benefit,  and  we  ought  to  avail  ourselves  of  her 
sacred  privileges.  It  is  not  only  a  great  privi- 
lege to  be  identified  with  the  visible  Church,  but 
it  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  duty  to  make  that  public 
"  confession  before  men  ^'  on  which  Christ,  the 
head  of  the  Church,  has  laid  so  much  stress. 
*' Whosoever  therefore  shall  confess  me  before 
men,  him  will  I  also  confess  before  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven." 


BE  A  TRICE.  323 

Brother  Towle  was  familiarly  known  as  "  Pap." 
Every  body  called  him  "  Pap,"  and  every  one 
loved  him  almost  as  a  child  loves  its  affectionate 
parent.  He  was  postmaster  from  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  place  until  the  day  of  his  death,  and 
had  he  lived,  would,  without  doubt,  still  have 
held  that  position.  His  name,  and  that  of  his 
amiable  wife,  are  embalmed  in  the  hearts  of  a 
grateful  people. 

The  following  story  is  told  on  David  Butler, 
who  afterwards  became  governor  of  the  State : 
During  the  war  he  was  recruiting  officer  and 
came  to  Beatrice  for  volunteers.  He  stopped  at 
"Pap's  cabin,"  which  was  a  favorite  resort  in  that 
early  day.  In  the  evening,  as  he  was  talking 
with  Mr.  Towle,  the  young  men  began  to  come 
in,  and  each  one  saluted  him  as  "  Pap."  About 
ten  had  gathered  in  when  Mr.  Butler  asked  Mr. 
Towle  to  take  a  walk.  They  walked  some  distance 
and  sat  down,  when  Mr.  Butler  began  explaining 
how  badly  the  Government  was  in  need  of  troops, 
and  hinted  about  the  size  and  ability  of  the 
"boys"  of  his  family.  Mr.  Towle  listened  at- 
tentively to  all  that  was  said,  and  seemed  very 
greatly  interested.  When  Mr.  Butler  had  dis- 
cussed the  matter  sufficiently  he  asked  him  if  he 
would  not  spare  some  of  his  boys,  and  Mr.  Towle 
said  he  would  spare  all  the  boys  he  had. 

"  How  many  boys  have  you,  Mr.  Towle?" 


324  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

"  Why,  bless  you,  man,  mine  are  all  daughters, 
and  I  have  not  a  boy  to  my  name,''  said  Mr. 
Towle. 

The  first  quarterly  meeting  on  the  Beatrice 
Circuit,  in  1861,  was  held  on  Cub  Creek,  some 
four  miles,  if  I  remember  correctly,  north-west  of 
Beatrice.  I  reached  the  village  Friday  evening, 
and  staid  over  night  at  Brother  Towle's.  On 
Saturday  morning,  Brother  Towle  ordered  out  his 
two-horse  wagon,  and  Sister  Towle,  three  of  the 
daughters,  some  of  the  neighbors,  and  myself,  got 
in  and  rode  out  to  the  quarterly  meeting.  The 
meeting  was  held  in  a  grove  on  the  farm  of 
Brother  Kilpatrick.  He  had  made  ample  ar- 
rangements for  the  meeting,  and  we  were  most 
royally  entertained  during  the  meeting  at  his 
cabin.  Brother  Kilpatrick  long  ago  passed  to 
his  home  in  the  skies.  That  first  quarterly  meet- 
ing on  the  Beatrice  charge  will  never  be  forgotten. 

In  1879,  Brother  Towle  passed  peacefully 
away  to  his  heavenly  home,  and  ten  years  after- 
wards was  followed  by  his  beloved  wife,  both 
honored  and  respected  by  all. 

The  first  homestead  ever  taken  under  the 
"United  States  Homestead  Law"  was  near  the 
city  of  Beatrice.  To  Daniel  Freeman  belongs 
this  honor.  His  claim  was  on  Cub  Creek,  four 
miles  west  of  Beatrice,  and  not  far  from  where  I 
held   the    quarterly  meeting  above   referred   to. 


BEATRICE.  325 

The  Homestead  Law  was  enacted  in  1862,  and 
Mr.  Freeman  took  his  claim  January  1,  1863, 
the  day  the  act  went  into  effect.  His  patent  is 
numbered  1,  and  is  recorded  in  Volume  I,  on 
page  1,  of  the  Records  of  the  General  Land  Office 
at  Washington. 

At  the  third  session  of  the  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska Conference,  held  at  Topeka,  Kansas  Ter- 
ritory, April  15-19, 1858,  Beatrice  was  placed  on 
the  Conference  Minutes  as  one  of  the  appoint- 
ments of  the  Nebraska  City  District,  and  left  to 
be  supplied.  At  the  next  session  of  the  Conference, 
held  in  Omaha,  Nebraska  Territory,  April  14-18, 
1859,  no  members  were  reported.  At  this  Con- 
ference J.  W.  Foster  was  appointed  pastor.  Dur- 
ing the  year  Brother  Foster  organized  a  class  at 
Beatrice,  one  at  Blue  Springs,  and  at  various 
other  points  on  the  circuit  organized  classes. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  growth  of  the 
Church  at  Beatrice,  as  well  as  at  other  points, 
was  slow.  In  1870  a  small  stone  church  was 
erected,  and  on  November  13th  of  that  year  I 
had  the  honor  and  privilege  of  preaching  the 
dedicatory  sermon,  and  of  consecrating  the  house 
to  the  worship  of  Almighty  God.  Brother  Will- 
iam Presson  w^as  the  successful  pastor  at  the 
time.  The  dedicatory  services  throughout  were 
attended  with  the  divine  presence  and  power, 
and  the  people  were  greatly   rejoiced  in  having 


326  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

a  beautiful  and  comfortable  church  in  which  to 
worship  God.  In  1881,  after  having  been  on 
district-work  for  ten  successive  years,  I  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  Beatrice  Station,  and  served  the 
Church  two  years.  During  the  first  year  God 
gave  us  a  most  gracious  revival  of  religion,  and 
over  one  hundred  and  thirty  were  converted. 

In  1886,  under  the  labors  of  Brother  ^y.  K. 
Beans,  the  present  beautiful  edifice  was  erected, 
and  named  "  Centenary  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Beatrice.''  Soon  after,  the  West  Bea- 
trice Church  was  built;  and  now  there  are  two 
thriving  Methodist  Churches  in  this  rapidly  grow- 
ing city.  Other  denominations  have  been  very 
active,  and  have  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of 
the  place. 

In  1864,  while  holding  a  quarterly  meeting  on 
the  Brownville  Circuit,  word  came  that  the  coun- 
ties west  of  the  Blue  River  were  being  raided  by 
the  Indians,  and  that  men,  women,  and  children 
were  being  slaughtered  indiscriminately.  It  was 
reported  that  the  Indians  had  reached  Beatrice, 
the  village  had  been  burned,  and  the  settlers  who 
had  not  fallen  victims  to  the  merciless  and  blood- 
thirsty savages,  were  fleeing  as  fast  as  possible  to 
the  Missouri  River.  The  report  created  intense 
excitement  at  the  meeting,  and  many  felt  like 
starting  at  once  for  the  defense  of  the  frontier 
settlers.     It  was  soon  ascertained,  however,  that, 


BE4TRICE.  327 

while  the  Indians  were  driving  everything  be- 
fore them  as  they  moved  towards  the  east,  and 
were  massacring  the  whites  wherever  they  could 
reach  them,  they  had  not  harmed  Beatrice.  The 
people  in  and  around  the  town  were  greatly 
alarmed,  and  the  excitement  was  at  white  heat. 
The  settlers  from  the  West  came  pouring  into  the 
village,  and  a  strong  corral  was  made  around 
the  old  mill,  where  the  frightened  refugees  re- 
mained for  ten  days.  A  company  of  men  was  or- 
ganized, and  started  out  to  meet  the  murderous 
Sioux.  This  company  of  brave  pioneers  met  a 
band  of  these  savages  on  the  Little  Blue,  and  de- 
feated them.  The  battle  was  a  sharp  and  severe 
one,  and  two  honored  and  highly  respected  citi- 
zens of  Gage  County,  M.  C.  Kelley  and  J.  H. 
Butler,  fell  mortally  wounded.  Although  Gage 
County  paid  dearly  for  the  relief  and  safety  of 
her  neighbors,  the  result  was  the  Indians  were 
panic-smitten,  and  instead  of  pushing  their  way 
further  eastward,  began  at  once  to  retreat  to  the 
west,  and  Beatrice  was  saved  from  their  ravage. 
This  raid,  made  upon  the  settlers  all  the  way 
west  of  Beatrice  to  Fort  Kearney,  was  one  of  the 
most  complete  and  destructive  ever  made  in  the 
State.  The  raid  was  previously  arranged  with 
all  the  Indians  along  the  route  for  two  hundred 
miles,  the  exact  time  set,  and  to  every  settlement 
a  band  of  Indians  allotted.     This  was  during  the 


328  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

war,  and  it  was  thought  that  this  awful  massacre 
was  instigated  by  white  men — white  men  with 
hearts  as  dark  as  any  that  ever  beat  in  the  breasts 
of  the  most  cruel  Red-men  of  the  plains. 

The  7th  day  of  August,  1864,  was  the  day 
set  for  the  simultaneous  attack  of  every  settle- 
ment west  of  Beatrice  to  Fort  Kearney.  It  was 
the  Sabbath,  and  many  of  the  people  had  gath- 
ered together  at  the  different  stations  along  the 
road,  and  at  different  places  in  the  diffierent 
settlements  for  religious  worship.  No  fear  of  the 
Indians  disturbed  the  peaceful  hearts  of  the  set- 
tlers. The  sun  rose  in  splendor,  poured  his 
genial  light  over  the  beautiful  prairies,  and  all 
nature  rejoiced.  On  that  calm  aud  lovely  morn- 
ing the  noble  pioneers  who  had  come  to  Ne- 
braska to  procure  for  themselves  homes,  felt  just 
as  secure  as  they  had  in  their  old  homes  in  the 
East.  Little  did  they  dream  that  the  day  begun 
so  bright  should  close  so  dark.  Every  station 
and  settlement  was  attacked  within  ten  minutes 
of  the  first,  so  perfect  was  the  execution  of  this 
most  carefully  planned  and  cold-blooded  massa- 
cre. The  Indians  appeared  at  the  stations  as  they 
were  in  the  habit  of  doing,  and  as  usual  were 
warmly  received  and  kindly  treated  by  the  Avhites. 
Then,  without  a  moment's  warning,  they  began  to 
shoot  down    their   helpless     victims,  mutilating 


BEATRICE.  329 

their  bodies,  burning  their  houses,  and  carrying 
away  all  they  could. 

I  have  no  plea  whatever  to  make  for  the  In- 
dians in  their  cruel  and  dastardly  work,  for  many 
of  their  atrocious  crimes  are  without  a  single  pal- 
liating circumstance.  Yet  I  am  compelled  to 
say  that,  in  many  instances,  the  treatment  of  the 
Indian  by  the  white  man  has  been  just  as  cruel 
as  the  treatment  of  the  white  man  by  the  Indian. 
I  would  indeed  be  glad  if  I  could  say  only  Indian 
hands  have  been  stained  with  human  blood ;  but 
alas !  I  can  not.  The  hands  of  many  white  men 
have  dripped  with  the  innocent  blood  of  the  In- 
dian. The  white  men  who  instigated  the  above 
massacre  were  just  as  guilty  as  the  Indians  who 
executed  it. 

A  white  man,  in  cold  blood,  without  the  least 
provocation  whatever,  shot  and  instantly  killed 
an  Indian  squaw  near  where  the  city  of  Lincoln 
now  stands,  leaving  her  husband,  the  Indian 
brave,  to  pass  on  alone  without  any  redress  what- 
ever. A  party  of  Mormons,  passing  through  St. 
Joseph,  bought  a  cow  that  they  might  have  a  sup- 
ply of  milk,  while  crossing  the  plains  to  Salt  Lake, 
for  a  sick  child.  Reaching  Jefferson  County,  the 
cow  gave  out,  and  they  had  to  rest  a  day  or  two 
for    her    to     recuperate.      They    resumed   their 

journey ;  but  she  soon  gave   out  again,  and  they 

28 


330  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

were  compelled  to  leave  her  to  shift  for  herself 
on  the  hills  and  plains  of  Nebraska.  Soon  after, 
this  cow  was  found  by  a  band  of  thirty  Pawnee 
Indians.  Thinking  she  was  an  estray,  they  killed 
her,  and  while  removing  her  hide,  a  rough  white 
man  came  along  with  a  mule-train.  He  was  a 
freighter,  reckless  and  daring.  Some  of  these  old 
freighters  were  as  tough  as  some  of  the  "  cow-boys^' 
on  the  plains  are  at  the  present  time.  Seeing 
what  had  been  done,  he  made  a  demand  of  the 
Indians  who  had  killed  the  cow.  They  refused 
to  comply  with  the  demand,  but  instead  offered 
thirty  dollars,  all  the  money  they  had,  and  really 
moi-e  than  the  animal  was  worth.  Then  they  of- 
fered their  best  pony,  which  was  refused,  and  the 
man  went  on  his  way  swearing  vengeance  upon 
them,  and  declaring  he  would  have  the  Indians' 
scalps.  He  secured  a  party  of  men,  went  in  pur- 
suit of  the  Indians,  and,  when  he  overtook  them, 
again  pressed  his  demand.  .  A  parley  ensued, 
then  a  bloody  fight,  in  which  one  Indian  and  one 
white  man  was  killed.  News  was  sent  to  Fort 
Kearney  that  the  Pawnees  had  made  an  attack 
upon  the  whites.  The  troops  were  ordered  out, 
and  before  the  matter  was  settled,  the  Govern- 
ment had  expended  one  hundred  and  forty  thou- 
sand dollars.  In  too  many  instances  the  white 
man  has  been  the  aggressor. 

In  1861  the  country  between  Beatrice  and  Ne- 


BEATRICE.  331 

braska  City  was  very  sparsely  settled.  For  many 
miles  east  of  Bear  Creek  there  was  not  a  single 
house.  Over  this  dreary  and  desolate  region  I 
traveled  to  and  fro  four  times  a  year  for  four 
years.  It  was  a  dismal  ride,  and  I  always 
greatly  dreaded  it.  The  scream  of  the  prairie- 
snipe  and  the  bark  of  the  coyote  often  startled 
me  as  I  sat  in  my  buggy  half  asleep,  while  my 
bronco  pony  jogged  wearily  along  the  dim  and 
but  little  traveled  road;  and  ever  and  anon  a 
herd  of  beautiful  antelope  would  be  seen  grazing 
upon  the  hillside  or  skipping  over  the  prairies. 
But  this  scene  has  greatly  changed.  The  scream 
of  the  snipe  and  the  bark  of  the  coyote  have  long 
since  died  away,  and  the  antelope  is  no  longer 
seen  playing  upon  the  hillsides  and  along  the  val- 
leys of  this  beautiful  country.  Instead  of  these 
is  heard  the  bleating  of  sheep,  the  lowing  of  cat- 
tle, and  the  neighing  of  the  horses ;  and  rich  and 
finely-cultivated  farms  cover  all  this  once  dreary 
and  desolate  region. 


332         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

YORK. 

Location — First  Settlers — First  Grave  in  the  County — 
Methodist  Class  organized — David  Baker — Buffa- 
loes INVADE  the  County — Friendship  of  the  Early 
Settlers— W.  E.  Morgan — First  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing— Other  Churches — Appointed  to  York  Station, 
1883 — Great  Revival — The  Little  Girl  and  the 
Dark  Cloud  —  Second  Year — Another  Great  Re- 
vival —  The  New  Church  —  Subscription  —  Third 
Year — Church  completed— Dedication  by  Bishop 
Warren. 

YORK  is  the  county-seat  of  York  County.  It 
is  a  lovely  city,  situated  in  the  beautiful  val- 
ley of  Beaver  Creek,  and  is  the  geographical 
center  of  the  county.  When  first  located  it  was 
called  "  York  Center." 

The  first  settlements  made  in  York  County 
were  in  1861,  shortly  after  the  location  of  the 
territorial  road  from  Nebraska  City  west,  to  a 
point  on  the  ^^  California  Trail,"  forty  miles  due 
east  of  the  present  city  of  Kearney.  It  was 
known  by  the  early  freighters  as  "  The  Nebraska 
City  Cut-oflP."  Ranches  were  established  along 
this  road  at  different  points.  These  ranches  were 
the  hotels  along  this  public  highway,  kept  for  the 


YORK.  333 

benefit  of  travelers  and  freighters  over  the  plains. 
Five  of  these  ranches  were  established  in  York 
County  shortly  after  this  road  was  located.  The 
first  one  established  was  by  Benjamin  F.  Lush- 
baugh,  United  States  Indian  Agent  of  the  Paw- 
nees. It  was  near  the  west  line  of  the  county, 
situated  on  Porcupine  Bluffs,  and  was  known 
as  "Porcupine  Ranch.''  Afterwards  the  "Jack 
Smith  Ranch,"  the  "  McDonald  Ranch,''  the  "  An- 
telope Ranch,"  and  the  "Jack  Stone  Ranch" 
were  established  at  different  points  in  the  county. 
At  these  "  pioneer  hotels "  the  weary  traveler 
over  the  plains  found  rest  and  refreshment. 

The  grave  of  the  first  white  man  in  the  county 
may  be  seen  near  where  the  old  "Jack  Smith 
Ranch "  stood.  The  victim  was  an  overland 
stage-driver.  When  he  reached  the  ranch  he 
was  under  the  influence  of  bad  whisky;  was 
shamefully  abusive,  and  threatened  the  life  of 
the  ranch-keeper.  For  this  purpose,  he  went  to 
the  stage,  secured  his  revolvers,  returned  to  the 
ranch,  and  drew  a  bead  on  Mr.  Smith.  Mr.  Smith 
saw  his  danger,  and  shot  first,  the  ball  entering 
the  driver's  forehead,  killing  him  instantly.  Mr. 
Smith  was  exonerated  in  the  course  he  pursued, 
as  he  acted  entirely  in  self-defense.  Although  a 
drunkard  fills  the  first  grave  in  York  County,  to 
the  praise  and  honor  of  the  people  be  it  said, 
York  County   has  been   freer  from   intoxicants, 


334         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

and  less  evil  has  resulted  from  the  use  of  the 
vile  stuif,  than  in  almost  any  other  county  in  the 
State.  Her  temperance  principles  have  long 
been  known,  far  and  wide,  and  the  result  has 
been,  the  very  best  class  of  citizens  have  been  at- 
tracted,to  the  county. 

The  first  permanent  settler  in  York  Precinct 
was  Mr.  David  Baker.  In  August,  1869,  he, 
with  his  family,  pitched  their  tent  on  the  banks 
of  Beaver  Creek,  under  the  spreading  branches 
of  a  beautiful  old  elm-tree,  not  far  from  where 
the  city  of  York  now  stands.  In  this  tent  the 
family  made  their  home  for  three  months,  during 
which  time  Mr.  Baker  erected  the  first  frame 
house  in  the  precinct,  hauling  the  lumber  from 
Nebraska  City,  a  distance  of  over  one  hundred 
miles. 

The  city  of  York  was  founded  in  1869  by  the 
^'  South  Platte  Land  Company.''  The  site  was 
taken  as  a  pre-emption  claim  by  A.  M.  Ghost 
and  Mr.  Sherwood  for  the  company.  In  the 
spring  of  1870  the  town  was  represented  by  one 
sod-house  and  the  little  frame  building  which  had 
been  occupied  by  Messrs.  Ghost  and  Sherwood 
when  the  site  was  pre-empted. 

The  first  Methodist  class  was  organized  at  the 
house  of  David  Baker  in  the  spring  of  1871,  and 
was  composed  of  the  following  persons :  David 
Baker,  Elvira  Baker,  J.  H.  Bell,  Thomas  Bas- 


YORK.  335 

sett,  L.  D.  Brakeman,  Ella  Brakemau,  Sarah  M. 
Moore,  Thomas  Myres,  John  Murphy,  Mary 
Murphy,  S.  W.  Pettis,  and  Mrs.  Shackelford. 
Brother  Baker  was  the  leader.  At  Brother  Ba- 
ker's house  the  class  was  regularly  held;  and 
here  the  traveling  preacher  always  found  a  royal 
welcome.  The  home  of  Brother  and  Sister  Baker 
was  always  open  to  new-comers,  and  Father  and 
Mother  Baker  were  household  names  in  every 
settler's  cabin  in  York  County  for  many  years.  In 
1872  the  writer  had  the  privilege  of  sharing  their 
hospitality, and,  after  remaining  over  night  v/ith  the 
kind  family,  in  the  morning  Brother  Baker  ferried 
me  over  Beaver  Creek  in  a  sorghum-pan.  The 
stream  was  high  and  could  not  be  forded,  and  there 
was  no  bridge,  so  the  only  way  of  crossing  was  in 
this  unique  boat.  All  the  early  settlers  know  very 
well  what  a  sorghum-pan  is.  Some,  however, 
may  read  these  pages  whose  information  is  not  so 
extensive ;  so  for  their  benefit  I  will  explain  the 
nature  of  the  little  vessel  in  which  I  sailed  the 
first  time  across  the  raging  Beaver.  At  that  day 
almost  all  the  farmers  raised  a  species  of  sugar-cane 
called  sorghum.  Out  of  this  they  made  molasses, 
which  they  used  for  sweetening  purposes.  The 
juice  was  pressed  from  the  cane-stalks,  and  then 
boiled  to  a  syrup  in  pans  from  three  to  ten  feet 
long;  the  bottom  and  ends  were  of  sheet-iron, 
and  the  sides  of  plank.     They   were   from  one 


336  SOLITA RY  PLA CES  MA DE  GLAD. 

to  two  feet  wide,  and  the  sides  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  inches  high.  In  these  sorghura-pans 
the  juice  was  placed;  a  fire  was  kindled  under- 
neath, and  the  liquid  was  boiled  to  its  proper 
thickness.  Brother  Baker's  pan  resembled  some- 
what an  Indian  canoe,  and  in  it  I  was  safely  car- 
ried over  the  swift-flowing  stream. 

On  November  30,  1888,  Sister  Baker,  in  the 
eighty-third  year  of  her  age,  went  up  to  join  her 
husband,  who  had  preceded  her  to  the  skies  some 
years  before.  I  was  requested  to  be  present  and 
preach  her  funeral  sermon,  but  w^as  unable  to 
comply  with  the  request  of  the  kind  friends.  She 
was  buried  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
on  Sunday,  December  2,  1888,  Rev.  W.  K.  Beans 
officiating.  The  founders  of  the  Church  in  York 
County  are  passing  aw^ay.  "  They  rest  from  their 
labors,  and  their  works  do  follow  them.'' 

In  1868  there  were  a  few  settlers  in  diffi^rent 
parts  of  the  county,  and  the  most  of  them  were 
very  poor,  and  some  were  in  destitute  circum- 
stances. They  had  come  to  secure  homes  under 
the  '^Homestead  Law,"  and  had  but  very  little 
with  which  to  begin.  In  August  of  this  year  the 
county  was  visited  by  large  numbers  of  buffalo. 
This  was  the  last  appearance  of  these  animals  in 
any  considerable  number.  The  coming  of  these 
buffaloes  at  this  time  seemed  providential ;  for 
these  destitute  pioneers  were  without  meat,  and 


YORK.  337 

the  prospect  was  that  they  would  have  to  remain 
without  meat  during  the  coming  winter.  When 
these  cattle  of  the  prairies  appeared,  the  settlers 
were  not  slow  in  availing  themselves  of  the  priv- 
ilege of  laying  in  an  abundant  supply  for  the  sea- 
son. Though  coarser-grained  than  the  beef  from 
the  American  cattle,  the  beef  from  the  buffalo  is 
sweet,  palatable,  and  healthful. 

The  settlers  at  that  time  thought  nothing  of 
going  twenty  miles  to  visit  a  neighbor.  A  new 
settler  was  hailed  with  delight,  and  the  neighbors 
would  go  ten  or  fifteen  miles  to  assist  him  in  erect- 
ing his  sod-house,  and  give  him  a  warm  and  honest 
welcome.  The  stranger  at  once  became  acquainted 
and  felt  at  home.  Such  hearty  good-will  was  ir- 
resistible, and  no  sooner  did  the  new  settler  see 
it  than  he  took  the  contagion,  and  was  as  jolly, 
free,  and  friendly  as  the  rest.  Solomon^s  proverb 
holds  good  the  wide  world  over,  and  has  been 
verified  in  every  age :  "  A  man  that  hath  friends 
must  show  himself  friendly.'^  Friendship  of  the 
true  type  was  beautifully  manifested  among  the 
earlier  settlers  of  the  State.  Would  that  the  same 
social,  benevolent,  free-and-easy  spirit  were  man- 
ifested now! 

York  first  appeared  as  an  appointment  in 
1871  upon  the  Minutes  of  the  Nebraska  Confer- 
ence. It  was  in  the  Beatrice  District,  and  was 
left  to  be  suj)plied.  Near  the  close  of  the  year 
2'J  . 


338  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Rev.  W.  E.  Morgan  was  employed  by  the  presid- 
ing elder,  Eev.  J.  B.  Maxfield,  to  supply  the 
work  until  Conference. 

At  the  Conference  of  1872,  York  was  placed  in 
the  Lincoln  District.  I  was  the  presiding  elder 
and  W.  E.  Morgan  pastor.  The  mission  em- 
braced the  whole  county.  Over  this  vast  territory 
Brother  Morgan  traveled,  enduring  great  hard- 
ships and  privations,  that  he  might  give  to  the 
people  in  the  sparse-settled  neighborhoods,  scat- 
tered over  the  country,  the  bread  of  life,  and  lay 
deep  and  broad  the  foundations  of  the  Church. 
To  his  untiring  labors  and  bold  advocacy  is  due 
largely  the  strong  temperance  sentiment  which 
has  always  prevailed  in  the  county.  The  little 
society  of  which  he  was  the  first  pastor  has  grown 
into  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  desirable  sta- 
tions in  the  Nebraska  Conference. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1872,  I  left  my  home  in 
Lincoln,  and  sallied  forth  in  my  buggy,  drawn 
by  a  span  of  spirited  ponies,' for  my  first  quarterly 
meeting  at  York.  Recent  heavy  rains  had  left 
the  roads  in  very  bad  plight.  The  streams  were 
badly  swollen,  many  of  the  bridges  were  washed 
away,  and  the  mud  was  deep,  making  travel  ex- 
ceedingly slow  and  difficult.  Late  in  the  evening 
I  reached  Beaver  Crossing,  and  was  most  kindly 
entertained  at  the  hospitable  cabin  of  Brother  and 
Sister  Jones.     Brother  Jones  and  family  after- 


YORK.  339 

wards  moved  to  York,  and  while  stationed  in  that 
city  were,  for  three  years,  among  my  most  faith- 
ful parishioners.  The  next  day  I  pushed  on  to 
York,  and  held  the  first  Quarterly  Conference 
ever  held  in  the  place.  At  this  Conference  plans 
and  specifications  for  the  new  church  were  adopted, 
and  arrangements  made  for  pushing  the  work  to 
a  speedy  completion.  The  church  was  soon  fin- 
ished and  dedicated,  the  Rev.  Minor  Raymond, 
D.  D.,  of  Evanston,  Illinois,  officiating. 

At  the  close  of  the  Quarterly  Conference,  in 
compliance  with  the  kindly  invitation  of  Brother 
and  Sister  Morgan,  I  rode  out  to  their  home- 
stead, and  spent  a  most  pleasant  night  with  them 
in  their  new  frame-building.  The  sod-house  had 
just  been  superseded  by  this  neat  and  beautiful 
frame  cottage.  Possessing,  in  no  small  degree, 
one  of  the  usual  weaknesses  of  a  Methodist 
preacher,  I  remember  well  how  I  enjoyed  the  ex- 
cellent fried  chicken  Sister  Morgan  gave  us  for 
breakfast  Sunday  morning.  After  a  hearty  and 
very  enjoyable  meal,  we  hurried  away  to  the  nine 
o'clock  love-feast,  where,  for  an  hour,  we  had  a 
genuine,  old-fashioned  feast  of  love.  Then  came 
the  preaching,  then  the  collection,  then  the  sac- 
rament of  the  Lord^s  Supper,  and  then  the  recep- 
tion of  members  into  the  Church.  Representatives 
from  various  parts  of  the  county  were  present. 
The  people  at  that  time  thought  nothing  of  going 


340  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

twenty  or  thirty  miles  to  attend  quarterly  meet- 
ing. The  services  were  held  in  the  new  frame 
building  belonging  to  the  Burlington  and  Mis- 
souri River  Railroad  Company,  and  used  for  a  land- 
office.  This  building  stood  on  the  west  side  of  the 
square.  Here  I  met  Judge  D.  T.  Moore,  Milton 
Sovereign,  and  their  estimable  wives,  and  they 
also,  for  three  years,  were  among  the  most  faith- 
ful of  my  parishioners  while  pastor  of  the  York 
Station. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in 
July,  1871 ;  the  Congregational  Church  in  May, 
1872.  At  a  later  period,  the  Baptist  and  Chris- 
tian Churches  were  organized.  All  now  have  ele- 
gant church-buildings  and  large  and  flourishing 
societies.  The  citizens  of  York  are  altogether  the 
best  church-going  people  it  has  ever  been  our 
privilege  to  become  acquainted  with.  The  intel- 
ligence and  piety  of  the  people  are  far  above  the 
average,  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  of 
places  in  which  to  live. 

The  Nebraska  Conference  Seminary  was 
founded,  in  1879,  by  the  Nebraska  Conference, 
and  located  at  York,  a  full  account  of  which  may 
be  found  in  chapter  xxiii,  of  this  book. 

We  were  appointed  to  the  York  Station  by 
Bishop  Wiley,  September  10,  1883.  My  prede- 
cessor. Brother  G.  A.  Smith,  had  left  the  charge 
in  an   excellent   condition.      I  found  peace  and 


YORK.  841 

harmony,  and  the  Church  in  good  working  order. 
There  were  two  hundred  and  seventy-one  members 
enrolled  on  the  Church  record.  We  had  no  church- 
building  at  that  time.  The  first  church  built  had 
long  since  become  too  small  for  the  congrega- 
tions, and  had  been  sold,  and  our  people  were 
worshiping  in  "Bell^s  Hall.'^ 

Mrs.  Davis  and  I  entered  upon  our  labors,  as 
we  always  do,  with  an  intense  desire  for  the  sal- 
vation of  souls.  During  the  first  three  months  I 
preached  every  Sunday  morning  to  the  Church 
what  I  called  in  my  own  mind,  although  I  did 
not  announce  them  as  such,  awakening  sermons, 
showing  the  members  their  great  privileges  and 
responsibilities  as  well.  In  the  evening,  I  preached 
to  the  unconverted,  and  more  especially  to  the 
young,  what  I  called  in  my  own  mind  awakening 
sermons,  designed  to  produce  conviction  and  show 
them  the  great  need  and  importance  of  salvation. 
At  the  end  of  three  months  it  seemed  to  me  the 
Church  was  ripe  for  a  revival;  in  fact,  a  revival 
was  already  in  progress.  A  number  had  already 
been  converted,  others  were  under  deep  convic- 
tion, while  many  others  were  thinking  seriously 
of  the  important  matter.  On  the  6th  day  of  Jan- 
uary I  began  special  revival  services,  preaching 
every  night,  and  holding  social  meetings  every 
afternoon.  During  the  first  two  weeks  of  the 
meeting  twelve  persons  were  converted.     Slowly 


342  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

but  steadily  the  meetings  increased  in  interest  and 
power,  and  almost  every  night  new  interest  was 
manifested.  The  third  week  twenty-eight  were 
converted.  Then  I  appointed  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer,  and  earnestly  exhorted  all  to  observe  that 
day.  I  also  appointed  a  meeting  the  same  day 
in  the  hall,  at  two  o^clock  P.  M.,  and  announced 
that  I  would  preach  on  the  subject  of  "Consecra- 
tion.'^  Dr.  Thomson  dismissed  the  college,  and 
requested  all  to  observe  the  day  as  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer  to  Almighty  God  for  the  out- 
pouring of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  all  the  people, 
and  urged  all  to  attend  the  services  in  the  after- 
noon. At  precisely  two  o'clock  I  went  to  the 
hall,  and  as  I  entered  I  was  astonished,  and  at  the 
same  time  very  greatly  delighted,  and  it  seemed 
that  a  new  inspiration  came  upon  me.  I  was 
moved  and  thrilled  through  and  through  at  the 
sight.  I  found  the  house  packed  from  the  door 
to  the  pulpit  with  devout  worshipers.  Leading 
business  men  of  the  city  had  left  their  stores  and 
offices  and  various  places  of  business,  and  had 
come  to  worship  God ;  the  president  of  the  college 
and  members  of  the  faculty,  and  many  of  the 
students  were  there,  all  waiting  and  anxiously 
,  looking  for  the  heavenly  anointing.  I  took  for 
my  text  Exodus  xiii,  2,  "  Sanctify  unto  me  all 
the  first  born;''  and  I  had  "liberty."  Every 
Methodist  preacher  knows  well  what  that  means. 


YORK.  343 

The  power  of  God  came  upon  the  preacher  and 
the  congregation,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  carried 
truth  to  the  hearts  of  the  people.  At  the  close 
of  the  sermon  I  said:  "Now,  all  who  wish  to 
consecrate  themselves  wholly  to  God — to  make 
an  unconditional  and  eternal  surrender  of  all  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — come  to  the  altar.^^  In 
less  than  one  minute  the  altar  was  crowded.  They 
were  kneeling  four  tiers  deep,  filling  all  the  space 
between  the  platform  and  the  seats.  I  saw  others 
pressing  their  way  forward,  anxious,  but  unable 
to  reach  the  altar.  I  called  upon  them  to  kneel 
down  in  the  aisles.  The  aisles  were  filled.  Then 
I  called  upon  the  people  to  kneel  right  where 
they  were  sitting.  Nearly  every  person  present 
knelt.  The  whole  house  was  an  altar.  Such  a 
scene !  I  shall  never  forget  it.  Its  precious 
memory  is  with  me  to-day,  and  will  linger  with 
me,  methinks,  forever.  Then  we  prayed.  The 
bending  heavens  touched  the  congregation, 

"  Heaven  came  down  our  souls  to  greet, 
And  glory  crowned  the  mercy-seat." 

Many  that  were  there  will  remember  that  scene 
forever.  That  night  thirty  were  at  the  altar,  and 
some  twenty  were  clearly  converted.  It  was  the 
crowning  day  of  the  meeting — the  great  day  of 
the  feast.  God  puts  his  seal  of  approbation  on 
these  days  of  fasting  and  prayer.     We  continued 


344  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

the  meetings  about  six  weeks,  and  the  result  was 
one  hundred  and  thirty-two  conversions,  and  the 
whole  Church  wonderfully  quickened  in  faith  and 
power. 

Then  we  turned  our  attention  to  instructing 
and  building  up  the  young  converts.  The  con- 
verts were  of  all  ages,  ranging  from  the  man  fifty 
years  old  in  sin  down  to  the  little  child.  The 
students  in  the  college  shared  largely  the  benefits 
of  the  meeting.  The  members  of  the  faculty 
took  an  active  part  in  the  revival,  and  aided  in 
the  work.  Many  young  men  and  women  were 
wonderfully  saved,  and  became  mighty  factors  in 
bringing  others  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  A 
little  girl  only  thirteen  years  old  was  very  clearly 
converted ;  her  experience  was  most  beautiful  and 
touching.  A  few  days  afterward  I  met  her  on 
the  street,  and  she  looked  very  sad.  Gloom  was 
in  every  lineament  of  her  face.  Looking  up  to 
me  very  imploringly,  she  said:  "O,  Brother 
Davis,  a  dark  cloud  has  come  over  me,  and  I 
feel  so  bad!  Can  you  tell  me  what  to  do  to 
make  the  cloud  go  away?^^  "O  yes,^^  said  I; 
*'  you  go  and  pray,  and  ask  Jesus  to  take  away 
the  cloud,  and  it  will  go  away."  Her  counte- 
nance changed  in  an  instant;  she  looked  relieved, 
and  thanking  me  very  kindly,  with  a  light  step 
bounded  away  down  the  street.  A  day  or  so 
afterward   I   met   her.      Her   face   beamed   with 


YORK.  345 

joy,  and,  with  a  glad  heart,  she  said :  "  Brother 
Davis,  I  did  just  what  you  told  me  to  do.  I 
went  and  prayed,  and  asked  Jesus  to  take  away 
the  cloud,  and  the  cloud  went  away ;  and  I  have 
been  so  happy  ever  since !"  O  the  wondrous 
power  of  prayer !  He  who  feeds  the  ravens 
when  they  cry^  hears  the  children  when  they 
pray. 

"  Prayer  raakes  the  darkened  cloud  withdraw  ; 
Prayer  climbs  the  ladder  Jacob  saw — 
Gives  exercise  to  faith  and  love, 
Brings  every  blessing  froin  above." 

Are  you  tempted  ?  Pray,  and  the  tempter  will 
flee  from  you ;  for 

"  Satan  trembles  when  he  sees 
The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees." 

Do  clouds  gather  heavy,  thick,  and  dark  about 
you?  Pray,  and  the  clouds  will  rift,  the  sunlight 
of  glory  will  come  streaming  down  into  your 
soul.  Does  faith  waver?  Pray,  and  it  will  grow 
strong,  and  on  its  mighty  pinions  you  Avill  rise 
above  all  doubts  and  fears.  A  praying  Church 
is  a  happy  Church,  a  safe  Church,  a  conquering 
Church.     Such  a  Church  we  had  at  York. 

The  Conference  year  closed  with  very  gratify- 
ing results.  I  was  returned  to  York  Station  by 
Bishop  Mallalieu  in  1884.  I  began  the  year  with 
another  revival  of  religion  in  view.  In  all  my 
pulpit  preparations,  pastoral  visiting,  preaching. 


346  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

and  Church  work,  I  had  this  object  constantly  in 
mind,  and  I  worked  continually  to  this  end. 

On  the  4th  of  January  I  began  revival  serv- 
ices. From  the  very  beginning  sinners  were 
converted.  In  fact,  long  before  the  extra  meet- 
ings began  souls  were  saved.  Twelv^e  had  already 
been  converted ;  one  or  more  had  been  converted 
every  week  for  a  number  of  weeks  before  the 
extra  meetings  began.  The  tide  of  spiritual 
power  rose  rapidly  from  the  very  commencement. 
On  the  27th  day  of  January  I  announced  another 
fast-day.  That  day  I  preached  on  "Christian 
Perfection.'^  It  was  another  memorable  day.  A 
number  came  into  the  light  of  "  perfect  love," 
and  are  witnesses  to-day  to  Christ's  wondrous 
power  to  "save  to  the  uttermost.''  The  result 
of  this  meeting  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-six 
conversions,  and  the  realization  of  "  full  salva- 
tion "  on  the  part  of  many  members  of  the  Church. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting  we  began  to  talk 
up  the  matter  of  a  new  church.  All  seemed  to 
think  the  time  had  come  when  we  ought  to  build. 
The  first  thing  we  had  to  do  was  to  decide  on  a 
location ;  and  of  all  questions  this  is  the  most 
difficult  and  delicate  question  to  handle.  Some 
members  of  the  Board  wanted  the  church  built 
on  the  lots  where  the  parsonage  stood.  These 
lots  had  been  given  by  the  "South  Platte  Land 
Company"    for    church    purposes,    and    it    was 


YORK.  347 

thought  by  some  that,  in  view  of  this  fact,  and 
the  eligibility  of  the  location,  the  church  ought, 
in  justice,  to  be  built  here.  They  were  very 
strong  in  their  convictions  on  this  matter. 
Others  thought  the  church  ought  to  be  built  on 
"  East  Hill,^^  near  where  the  college  building 
stood,  and  they  were  just  as  strong  in  their  con- 
victions. The  Official  Board  was  nearly  equally 
divided.  After  discussing  the  matter  pro  and  con 
in  a  number  of  meetings,  a  compromise  was  at 
length  reached,  and  the  Board  decided  to  build 
on  the  corner  of  Sixth  Street  and  Nebraska  Av- 
enue. There  were  at  first  a  few  criticisms  of  this 
action.  A  faint  murmur  from  a  few  was  heard, 
but  this  murmur  in  a  very  little  while  died  away. 
The  action  of  the  Board  in  locating  the  church 
where  it  did  was  eminently  wise,  and  has  never 
since  been  called  in  question.  Perfect  harmony 
prevailed,  and  the  church  stands  to-day  just 
where  it  should  stand — right  in  the  center  of  the 
city.  The  Board  decided  to  build  a  church  not 
to  cost  more  than  twelve  thousand  dollars,  and 
not  to  begin  work  until  ten  thousand  dollars 
were  subscribed. 

On  the  26th  day  of  April  I  took  for  my  text 
Nehemiah  ii,  10:  "We  his  servants  will  arise  and 
build.''  At  the  close  of  a  short  talk  from  these 
words,  I  called  for  subscriptions  for  the  new 
church.     I  stated  the  decision  of  the  Board — not 


348         SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

to  begin  work  till  ten  thousand  dollars  were  sub- 
scribed. I  asked  the  congregation  for  eight  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  said :  "  If  this  congregation 
will  subscribe  eight  thousand  dollars,  I  think  I 
can  get  the  other  two  thousand  dollars  pledged 
in  a  week  or  two,  and  then  work  will  begin  on 
the  new  church."  When  I  asked  for  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  from  the  congregation  present,  some 
laughed  right  out.  They  thought  the  request 
absurd  and  the  most  preposterous.  I,  however, 
felt  confident,  that  the  eight  thousand  could  be 
raised.  I  had  been  working  the  matter  up  for 
several  days,  and  had  over  four  thousand  dollars 
in  sight.  I  had  felt  the  pulse  of  many,  and  knew 
there  was  a  very  healthy  feeling  in  the  commu- 
nity touching  the  subject.  I  closed  the  morning 
service  with  over  nine  thousand  dollars  sub- 
scribed. The  matter  was  presented  again  in  the 
evening,  and  the  day's  work  closed  with  ten  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  pledged.  It 
was  the  best  subscription,  taking  the  number  and 
ability  of  the  people  into  consideration,  I  had 
ever  known.  The  people  were  jubilant.  Smiles 
were  on  all  faces,  and  tears  of  joy  in  many  eyes. 
It  was  a  '^  red-letter  day  "  for  York.  The  enthu- 
siasm over  the  new  church-building  was  at  white- 
heat.  In  a  few  days  afterward  men  were  at  work 
on  the  building,  and  when  Conference  came  the 
church  was  well  under  way. 


YORK.  349 

We  were  returned  to  York  by  Bishop  An- 
drews for  the  third  year.  The  collecting  of 
money  for  the  new  church,  and  looking  after 
matters  connected  with  the  building,  occupied  a 
great  deal  of  my  time  during  the  first  part  of 
the  Conference  year.  Work  on  the  building  was 
pushed ;  the  basement  was  completed,  and  we 
took  possession  and  informally  dedicated  it  to  the 
worship  of  Almighty  God  December  6th.  I  took 
for  my  text  on  the  occasion  Psalm  Ixxxiv,  1 : 
"How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of 
hosts!"  The  room  was  full,  the  interest  deep, 
and  the  attention  the  most  profound.  It  w^s 
easy  to  preach  to  such  a  congregation.  I  have 
often  said:  "If  a  preacher  can  not  preach  in 
York,  he  can  not  preach  anywhere."  The  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  bear  the  preacher  right  up  to 
the  very  throne  of  God  on  the  mighty  wings  of 
prayer  and  faith.  God  wonderfully  helped  his 
weak  servant  in  delivering  the  message  of  salva- 
tion. The  glory  of  the  Lord  filled  the  house, 
and  the  first  day's  service  in  the  new  church  was 
indeed  most  precious.  It  was  the  augury  of  the 
good  things  to  come. 

The  audience-room  was  completed  and  ready 
for  dedication  February  27th,  when  Bishop  H. 
W.  Warren  was  present  and  preached  the  ded- 
icatory sermon.  His  text  was  Isaiah  Ix,  17 : 
"  For  brass  I  will  bring  gold,  and  for  iron  I  will 


350  SOLI  TAR  Y  PL  A  CES  MADE  GLAD. 

bring  silver,  and  for  wood  brass,  and  for  stones 
iron."  The  sermon  was  just  such  as  Bishop 
Warren  could  preach.  The  house  was  packed  to 
its  utmost  capacity  with  a  most  appreciative  and 
intelligent  audience.  Over  thirteen  hundred  were 
present  at  the  morning  service.  We  needed  seven 
thousand  dollars  to  remove  all  indebtedness.  In 
a  very  little  while  over  eight  thousand  dollars 
were  subscribed,  giving  us  a  margin  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  subscriptions  were  taken  in 
notes  bearing  seven  per  cent  interest.  Dr.  C.  F. 
Creighton  preached  at  night,  and  a  most  eventful 
day  for  York  closed.  It  was  another  "red- 
letter  day." 

The  official  Board  had  determined  to  build  a 
church  costing  twelve  thousand  dollars.  We 
now  had  a  church  costing  eighteen  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  virtually  out  of  debt.  God's  seal  of 
approbation  seemed  to  rest  upon  pastor  and  peo- 
ple from  the  moment  the  work  began  until  "the 
head-stone  was  brought  forth  with  shoutings, 
crying,  Grace,  grace  unto  it !" 

During  our  three  years'  pastorate  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  souls  were  converted,  and 
the  membership  more  than  doubled.  We  left  the 
charge  with  over  six  hundred  members.  Our 
success  was  due  wholly  to  the  fact  that  God  was 
with  pastor  and  people.  We  leaned  not  upon 
our  own  strength  nor  "unto  our  own  understand- 


YORK.  351 

iDg/'  These  three  years  were  memorable  in  our 
miuistry.  They  will  never  be  forgotten.  They 
will  be  remembered  with  pleasure  and  delight 
when  we  reach  the  plains  of  glory.  We  expect 
to  meet  and  to  live  forever  with  the  good  people 
of  York. 


352  SOLI  TAR  Y  FLA  CES  MA  DE  OLAD. 


CHAPTER  XXIIT. 

METHODIST  EDUCATION  IN  NEBRASKA  UNIFIED. 

Methodist  Schools   in   Nebraska    during    the    Past — 
The  Nebraska  Wesleyan  University. 

BISHOP  NINDE  said,  in  an  address  delivered 
before  the  Educational  Convention,  held  in 
Lincoln  in  the  spring  of  1889 :  ^'Nebraska  has 
solved  the  great  problem  of  the  unification  of 
Methodist  education." 

This  question  has  baffled  the  minds  of  the 
greatest  educators  and  divines  in  our  Church  for 
the  past  one  hundred  years.  This  great  problem — 
one  of  the  most  perplexing  of  all  educational 
problems — Nebraska  has  been  the  first   to   solve. 

Up  to  1887,  the  history  of  Methodist  educa- 
tion in  Nebraska  had  been  anything  but  satisfac- 
tory. Up  to  that  time  the  efforts  of  the  Church 
along  the  line  of  education  had  been  a  succession 
of  failures  and  the  most  disastrous  defeats. 

Against  the  multiplication  of  weak  and  sickly 
institutions  of  learning,  our  Discipline  for  many 
years  has  contained  a  standing  protest.  In  sec- 
tion 2,  paragraph  344,  may  be  found  the  following 
recommendation :  "And  it  is  also   recommended 


METHODIST  EDUCATION  UNIFIED.        353 

that  no  fewer  than  four  Conferences  unite  in  sup- 
port of  a  college  or  university,  and  the  Confer- 
ences are  earnestly  advised  not  to  multiply  schools, 
especially  of  the  higher  grade,  beyond  the  wants 
of  the  people  or  their  ability  to  sustain  them." 
The  wise  men  of  our  Church,  who  have  given 
the  above  sensible  advice,  knew  well  that  it  takes 
immense  sums  of  money  to  build  up  a  successful 
university ;  and  where  two  or  more  schools  of 
high  grade  are  attempted  to  be  built  up  under 
the  patronizing  territory  of  three  or  four  Confer- 
ences, all  of  them  must  of  necessity  be  weak  and 
sickly.  But,  notwithstanding  this  urgent  request 
from  the  highest  authorities  of  the  Church,  weak 
and  sickly  institutions  of  learning  have  gone  on, 
multiplying  and  dying,  all  over  our  land;  and 
the  work  of  folly  goes  on  to-day  as  in  all  the 
years  of  the  past.  The  result  has  been  that  many 
warm  friends  of  Christian  education  have  become 
discouraged  and  utterly  disheartened,  and  at  many 
points  Methodist  education  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  have  received  a  blow  from 
which  they  will  probably  never  fully  recover. 
This  process,  for  years  and  years,  went  on  in  Ne- 
braska, just  as  in  all  other  States. 

The  late  Dr.  John  Dempster  at  one  time  had 

his  eye  on  Nebraska  as  a  suitable  place  to  found  a 

theological  institute.     This  great  and  good  man 

was  among   the   first   who   felt   deeply  impressed 

30 


354  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

with  the  conviction  that  there  should  be  a  semi- 
nary for  young  ministers.  He  began  to  devote 
himself  to  this  work,  and  in  1847  he  founded 
and  opened  the  Biblical  Institute  at  Concord, 
N.  H.  For  seven  years  he  labored  faithfully  as 
an  instructor,  during  which  time  he  traveled  ex- 
tensively and  collected  funds  for  the  institution. 
After  having,  by  his  tireless  zeal  and  indomitable 
energy,  placed  the  institution  firmly  on  its  feet, 
and  having  seen  it  securely  fixed  in  the  affections 
of  the  preachers,  he  resigned  his  place  to  become 
a  pioneer  in  the  West.  About  this  time,  Mrs. 
Eliza  Garrett,  of  Chicago,  111.,  a  lady  of  wealth, 
was  arranging  to  devote  her  property  for  a  theo- 
logical school.  The  Doctor  visited  her,  and  through 
her  munificent  donations,  opened  a  preliminary 
school  at  Evanston,  which  afterwards  became  the 
Garrett  Biblical  Institute.  Having  founded  this 
school,  and  seen  it  firmly  established,  he  began 
to  look  for  a  suitable  place  to  found  the  third. 
His  great  heart  was  not  satisfied  with  what  he 
had  already  done.  His  yearning  spirit  was 
turned  further  West.  He  was  exceedingly  anx- 
ious to  accomplish  still  more  along  the  line  of 
ministerial  education.  In  1858  the  town  of 
Oreapolis  was  founded,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Platte 
River,  just  north  of  the  city  of  Plattsmouth. 
The  design  of  the  parties  in  locating  this  town 
was  to  make  it  a  great  educational  center,  and  to 


METHODIST  EDUCATION  UNIFIED.         355 

build  up  a  second  Evanston.  They  confidently 
expected  that  Oreapolis  would  not  only  become 
a  great  educational  center,  but  would  be  the  east- 
ern terminus  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and 
the  metropolitan  city  of  the  Great  AVest.  Liberal 
propositions  were  made  to  the  Church  by  the 
town  company. 

At  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Conference,  held 
in  Omaha  in  the  spring  of  1859,  the  Committee 
on  Education,  of  which  the  writer  was  a  member, 
submitted  as  part  of  its  report  the  following, 
which  was  adopted  : 

"  Your  Committee  on  Education,  to  whom  was  referred 
the  communication  of  John  Dempster,  in  reference  to  the 
establishment  of  a  Biblical  institute  at  Oreapolis,  would 
report: 

"That  they  have  carefully  considered  the  propositions 
therein  contained,  and  recommend  the  adoption  of  the 
following  resolutions: 

"1.  Resolved,  That  we  will  cordially  and  heartily  co- 
operate witli  the  friends  of  ministerial  education  generally, 
and  with  Dr.  John  Dempster  in  particular,  in  the  great 
work  of  founding  and  sustaining  a  Biblical  institute,  for 
the  education  of  our  junior  ministry  in  the  Missouri 
River  valley,  to  be  located  at  Oreapolis,  N.  T. 

"2.  Resolved,  That  the  thnnks  of  this  Conference  be 
tendered  to  Dr.  Dempster  for  the  noble  and  generous 
donation  he  has  tendered  to  said  institute,  and  for  his 
efficient  and  devoted  labors  in  the  cause  of  ministerial 
education  in  our  Church,  and  that  he  be  cordially  invited 
to  join  this  Conference. 

"3.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Confer- 
ence that  said  institute  may  with  confidence  expect  as 


356  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

many  as  ten  students  from  the  Missouri  Valley  at  its 
opening,  as  proposed  by  Dr.  Dempster,  in  the  autumn 
of  1860. 

"4.  Resolved^  That  this  Conference  respectfully  me- 
morialize the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Nebraska  to  grant 
the  trustees  of  said  institute  a  charter,  with  the  usual 
franchises  securing  the  control  of  the  same  in  perpetuity 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

"All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

OREAPOI.IS   SEMINARY. 

"Your  Committee  on  Education,  to  whom  was  re- 
ferred the  charter  of  the  seminary  at  Oreapolis,  and  the 
communication  of  John  Evans  in  regard  to  the  same, 
have  had  the  same  under  consideration,  and  recommend 
the  passage  of  the  following  resolution  in  reference 
thereto : 

^^Resolved,  That  we  will  co-operate  with  the  friends  of 
education  in  the  establishment  of  said  seminary  at  Ore- 
apolis, and  that  we  will  exercise  the  control  of  said  insti- 
tution provided  for  in  its  charter  in  the  appointment  of 
trustees. 

"  All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

CASS  COUNTY   UNIVERSITY. 

"Your  committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  charter 
of  the  university  to  be  located  in  Cass  County,  N.  T.,  and 
the  communication  from  its  Board  of  Trustees,  have  had 
the  same  under  consideration,  and  respectfully  report: 

"That  in  view  of  the  establishment  of  the  institute 
and  seminary  at  Oreapolis,  and  the  great  importance  of 
concentrating  our  efforts  upon  one  great  leading  enter- 
prise in  Nebraska,  as  a  central  educational  point ;  in  view 
of  the  liberality  of  said  Town  Company  in  not  imposing 
onerous  obligations  upon  the  Conference  as  conditions 
of  their  large  donation ;  and  in  view  of  the  necessity  of 
the  theological  as  well  as  the  literary  and  scientific  de- 


METHODIST  EDUCATION  UNIFIED.        357 

partments  being  established  in  connection  with  a  univer- 
sity to  make  it  really  such,  we  recommend  the  passage  of 
the  following  resolutions : 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  we  accept  the  trust  imposed  upon 
us  by  the  terms  of  the  charter  of  said  university  in  fill- 
ing its  Board  of  Trustees. 

"2.  Resolved,  That  we  will  cordially  unite  with  the 
friends  of  education  in  exerting  our  best  efforts  to  build 
up  and  sustain  said  university." 

The  following  year  a  brick  building,  eighty 
feet  in  length,  and  three  stories  high,  was  erected, 
and  a  school  of  seminary  grade  opened.  The 
school  ran  with  encouraging  success  for  awhile. 
But  the  location  was  bad,  the  town  was  not  a  suc- 
cess, the  school  became  a  failure,  the  property 
never  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Church,  and 
the  whole  scheme  fell  to  pieces.  The  seminary, 
the  Biblical  Institute,  and  the  Great  Univ^ersity 
proved  to  be  only  the  idle  dreams  of  their  pro- 
jectors. Good  men  often  make  great  mistakes. 
Humanum  est  errare. 

In  1864,  Professor  J.  M.  McKenzie  founded 
a  seminary  and  normal  institute  at  Pawnee  City. 
The  name  of  this  school  was  "  Nemaha  Valley 
Seminary  and  Normal  Institute.''  In  the  spring 
of  1865  the  Nebraska  Conference  passed  a  reso- 
lution, recommending  this  institution  of  learning 
to  the  favorable  consideration  of  all  our  people. 
While  it  never  became  the  property  of  the  Con- 
ference, it  was  largely  patronized  by  our  people. 


358  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

This  school,  under  the  efficient  management  of 
Professor  McKenzie,  did  good  work  for  awhile,' 
but,  for  the  want  of  adequate  means  and  patron- 
age, soon  ran  its  course,  and  died. 

In  1866,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev.  H. 
Burch,  the  people  of  Peru  and  Nemaha  County- 
raised  several  thousand  dollars  for  the  founding 
of  a  Methodist  school  at  Peru.  A  building  eighty 
feet  long,  forty  feet  wide,  and  three  stories  high, 
was  erected.  This  school  was  incorporated  under 
the  style  of  "  Peru  Seminary  and  College,''  and 
its  friends  earnestly  desired  the  Conference  to 
adopt  it,  and  take  it  under  its  absolute  control. 
The  Conference,  however,  was  not  willing  to  com- 
ply with  the  request  of  the  trustees,  unless  they 
would  modify  their  charter  so  as  to  reduce  the 
grade  of  the  school  to  a  seminary.  This  they 
were  not  willing  to  do.  The  trustees  then  offered 
the  property  to  the  State,  on  condition  that  it  be 
made  a  normal  school.  The  offer  was  accepted, 
and  a  State  normal  school  was  founded,  which 
has  had  increasing  success  ever  since. 

In  1879  two  propositions  were  presented  to 
the  Conference ;  one  from  Osceola,  and  one  from 
York.  The  proposition  from  York  was  accepted, 
and  a  school  of  seminary  grade  was  at  once 
started.  Soon  after  this,  the  North  Nebraska 
Conference  founded  a  school  at  Fullerton.  This 
school  lived  but  a  little  while. 


METHODIST  EDUCATION  UNIFIED.        359 

Rev.  Edward  Thomson  was  appointed  priuci- 
cipal  of  the  York  Seminary.  The  new  seminary 
started  out  under  favorable  auspices.  Its  friends 
were  hopeful,  and  to  them  the  future  of  the  in- 
stitution was  exceedingly  bright.  Their  expecta- 
tions were  sanguine  in  the  extreme;  they  con- 
tracted debts,  and  these  debts  accumulated  yearly. 

In  1883  the  grade  was  changed  from  that  of  a 
seminary  to  college,  with  a  full  classical  curricu- 
lum. The  future  of  the  college  was  as  hopeful 
as  that  of  the  seminary.  Students  increased.  The 
college  grew  in  favor  with  the  people.  Withal, 
each  year  swelled  the  indebtedness  of  the  college, 
and  the  trustees  had  many  a  fearful  grapple  with 
them.  Midnight  often  found  them  wrestling  with 
the  fearful  problem :  "  How  shall  we  meet  these 
accumulating  obligations?"  Then,  worn  down  in 
body  and  mind,  they  would  retire  to  dream  over 
the  gloomy  situation. 

Central  City  College,  only  about  forty  miles 
away  from  York,  w^as  founded  by  the  North 
Nebraska  Conference.  Here  were  two  rival  in- 
stitutions, within  forty  miles  of  each  other,  each 
jealous  of  the  other's  success,  and  both  struggling 
for  existence. 

Meanwhile,  the  Mallalieu  University  was 
founded  at  Bartley ;  but,  like  the  others,  was 
without  financial  bottom. 

In  the  fall  of  1886,  Bishop  Fowler  was  to  pre- 


360  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

side  at  the  Nebraska  Conferences.  Some  of  the 
friends  of  education  saw  very  clearly  the  preca- 
rious condition  of  all  our  schools  of  high  grade 
in  the  State.  It  seemed  evident  to  the  close  ob- 
server of  educational  matters  that  the  death  of 
them  all  was  only  a  question  of  time.  Not  one 
was  on  a  iirm  financial  basis.  While  Bishop 
Fowler  was  on  his  way  to  the  North  Nebraska 
Conference,  he  was  met  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Creighton 
and  Dr.  R.  N.  McKaig.  Dr.  McKaig  was  then 
president  of  York  College.  Dr.  Creighton  was 
pastor  of  Saint  Paul,  Lincoln. 

The  gloomy  outlook  of  our  educational  mat- 
ters, the  want  of  sympathy  between  the  friends 
of  these  local  institutions,  and  the  demand  that 
something  be  done,  both  for  the  sake  of  educa- 
tion and  religion,  were  laid  before  the  bishop. 

Dr.  Creighton  proposed  that  all  our  educational 
interests  in  the  State  be  consolidated,  and  that  we 
build  up  one  great  educational  institution.  After 
listening  to  the  above  facts,  and  the  proposition 
of  Dr.  Creighton,  the  bishop  arose  and  said,  with 
stirring  emphasis:  ^^This  is  the  greatest  ivork  you 
have  in  Nebraska,  Now  what  do  you  want  me  to 
doT^  Meantime,  Rev.  J.  M.  Phelps,  presiding 
elder  of  the  Omaha  District,  came  in,  and  the 
bishop  gave  him  the  matter  in  substance,  and 
Brother  Phelps  assented  to  the  wisdom  of  such 
a  plan,   and   agreed  to   stand   by   it.     This  was 


METHODIST  EDUCATION  UNIFIED.       361 

the  unification  of  Methodist  education  in  Ne- 
braska in  its  incipiency. 

That  month,  September,  1886,  all  the  annual 
conferences  in  Nebraska — namely,  the  Nebraska, 
North  Nebraska,  and  West  Nebraska — at  their 
sessions  appointed  a  joint  commission  of  ministers 
and  laymen  for  the  purpose  of  unifying  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  the  Church  in  the  State,  and 
the  founding  of  a  university. 

That  commission  met  in  the  city  of  Lincoln, 
December  15,  1886,  and  remained  in  session  three 
days.  Bishop  Thomas  Bowman  and  Bishop  H.  W. 
AYarren  were  present  part  of  the  time.  The  fol- 
lowing plan  of  unification  was  agreed  upon : 

PLAN  OF  AGREEMENT 

FOR  THE   UNIFICATION   OF   OUR   COI.I.EGFS   IN  A  UNIVER- 
SITY  IN   NEBRASKA. 

First.  That  trustees,  to  be  hereafter  appointed,  secure 
a  charter  for  a  university,  to  include,  as  contributory  or 
allied  institutions,  the  schools  and  colleges  at  present  or 
hereafter  coming  under  the  control  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Nebraska. 

Second.  That  all  schools  or  colleges,  which  are  now 
or  may  hereafter  become  the  property  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Nebraska,  shall  be  under  the  control 
of  the  university  trustees ;  but  all  the  property,  real,  per- 
sonal, or  mixed,  shall  be  held  and  controlled  by  their 
own  local  Boards  of  Trustees. 

Third.  The  first  Board  of  University  Trustees  shall 
consist  of  seven  trustees,  from  within  the  boundaries  of 
31 


362  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

each  Conference  in  Nebraska,  to  be  appointed  by  this 
commission,  and  approved  by  the  several  Conferences  to 
which  they  belong,  and  that  hereafter  the  trustees 
shall  consist  of  seven  persons  from  each  and  every  Con- 
ference, elected  in  four  annual  classes  by  their  respective 
Conferences.  The  persons  thus  elected  by  the  several 
Conferences  shall  constitute  the  local  Boards  of  the  sev- 
eral colleges  within  the  bounds  of  their  respective  Con- 
ferences. 

These  several  local  Boards  of  Trustees  to  hold  and  con- 
trol the  property  of  each  college  as  above  provided,  and 
each  local  Board  may  nominate  so  many  additional  mem- 
bers as  each  separate  Conference  may  determine  to  elect 
who,  in  addition  to  said  local  Board,  shall  perform  the 
duties  of  said  local  trustees. 

Fourth.  Duties  of  the  university  and  college  trustees : 

(a)  The  university  trustees  to  have  and  hold  all  prop- 
erty belonging  to  the  university  proper,  and  to  manage 
the  affairs  of  the  same. 

(6)  To  determine  the  course  of  study,  text-books  to 
be  used,  systems  of  grading,  and  to  do  all  such  other  work 
as  appertains  to  the  general  educational  interests  of  the 
allied  colleges;  providing  that  each  college  elect  its  own 
faculty  and  arrange  for  its  own  internal  discipline. 

All  other  powers  remain  with  the  local  Boards  of  Trus- 
tees as  defined  by  their  charters  and  by-laws. 

Fifth.  Any  school  or  college  existent,  or  that  may  come 
under  the  charter  of  the  university,  shall  be  entitled  to 
retain  its  college  name,  to  acquire  property  to  be  held 
for  the  benefit  of  such  college,  to  teach  regular  prepara- 
tory and  collegiate  studies,  as  far  as  the  end  of  the  sopho- 
more year  of  the  university  course,  and  to  confer  academic 
and  normal  degrees.  The  colleges  of  the  university  shall 
have  the  same  courses  of  study,  use  the  same  text-books, 
and  students  of  one  college  shall  be  entitled  to  enter  the 
same  grade  and  rank  in  any  college  of  the  university,  on 
certificate  of  standing,  without  examination. 


METHODIST  EDUCATION  UNIFIED.       363 

Amendment  to  Article  V: 

The  clause  in  Article  V  of  the  above,  which  reads 
"as  far  as  the  end  of  the  sophomore  year,"  etc.,  shall  be 
understood  to  be  eo  interpreted  that  any  college  of  this 
university  may  be  graded  in  its  classical  curriculum  in 
every  detail,  so  that  its  classical  senior  year  of  graduation 
shall  not  be  graded  higher  than  the  end  of  the  sopho- 
more year  of  the  classical  course  of  the  university. 

The  following  addition  was  adopted: 

The  Board  of  Trustees  shall  make  the  grade  of  the 
university  equal  to  that  of  any  Methodist  university  in 
the  United  States. 

York,  Central  City,  Bartley,  Omaha,  and  Lin- 
coln were  all  applicants  for  the  university.  On 
the  second  ballot,  Lincoln  was  selected  as  the 
place  for  its  location.  The  friends  of  York 
worked  hard  to  secure  the  location,  but  failed, 
and  they  returned  home  sadly  disappointed.  The 
trustees  in  their  haste  unwisely  passed  a  resolu- 
tion declaring  York  College  independent  of  the 
"  Plan  of  Agreement."  They  soon  saw,  how- 
ever, their  great  mistake.  The  cry  of  disloyalty 
was  at  once  raised,  and  the  trustees  realized  that 
they  were  losing  the  sympathy  of  people  and 
preachers  throughout  the  Conference.  They  then 
changed  tactics  and  wheeled  into  line.  A  reso- 
lution was  passed  by  the  Board  rescinding  the 
action  whereby  it  had  declared  York  College  in- 
dependent of  the  "  Plan  of  Agreement."  But 
the  college  was  loaded  down  with  a  debt  of  six- 
teen thousand  dollars ;  the  trustees  were  sued,  and 


364  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

were  about  to  be  sold  out  by  their  creditors,  and 
their  property  sacrificed.  Rather  than  have  this 
done,  they  sold  the  property  themselves,  paid  off 
their  debts,  and  closed  the  school.  It  was  a  sad 
day  for  York  College.  The  noble  men  who  had 
stood  by  her  in  her  darkest  days  felt  most  keenly 
the  loss.  The  money  spent  on  the  York  College, 
however,  has  not  been  lost.  Forth  from  that 
college  have  gone  students  and  an  influence,  the 
salutary  effects  of  which  will  be  felt  in  many  parts 
of  the  land  through  all  time. 

The  university  was  located  at  Lincoln,  within 
a  radius  of  three  and  one-half  miles  from  the 
United  States  post-office.  A  beautiful  site  was 
selected  on  an  elevated  position.  From  this  ele- 
vated position  the  city  of  Lincoln  and  the  whole 
surrounding  country  can  be  distinctly  seen. 
Chancellor  Creighton  took  Chaplain  McCabe  to 
the  highest  point  on  the  campus  before  the  build- 
ing was  completed,  and  then  said  to  him  :  ''  Chap- 
lain, look  around."  The  chaplain  took  off  his 
hat,  gazed  with  delight  in  every  direction,  and, 
taking  a  long  breath,  inflated  his  lungs  with  the 
pure  air  of  Nebraska,  then  said :  "  Methodism 
always  gets  ahead." 

At  another  time  the  chancellor  took  Bishop 
Joyce  to  the  same  spot,  and,  after  the  bishop  had 
taken  in  the  situation,  said  :  "  Would  n't  we  bo 
jealous  if  some  other  denomination  had  this?" 


METHODIST  EDUCATION  UNIFIED.       365 

The  campus  contains  forty-four  acres.  In  the 
center  stands  the  university  building,  which  is 
four  stories  high,  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  by 
seventy-two  feet,  built  of  brick,  and  trimmed  with 
red  granite  from  Colorado,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  imposing  structures  in  the  West. 
The  building  cost  seventy  thousand  dollars.  Of 
this  amount  the  city  of  Lincoln  paid  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  the  balance  was  paid  from  the 
sale  of  lots  donated  to  the  university. 

Along  all  lines  great  victories  are  not  gained 
without  great  conflicts,  and  the  Nebraska  Wes- 
leyan  University  is  not  an  exception  to  this  rule. 
The  parties  who  gave  the  site  required  the  trus- 
tees to  give  bonds  in  the  sum  of  ninety  thou- 
sand dollars,  that  the  building  should  be  ready  for 
occupancy  by  the  first  of  October,  1888,  and 
should  cost  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
A  few  of  the  trustees,  individually,  gave  the  re- 
quired bond.  Work  began,  but  time  and  again 
stopped  for  the  want  of  means.  The  matter 
weighed  heavily  on  the  mind  of  Dr.  Creighton. 
The  cloud  at  times  grew  awfully  dark.  Often  at 
the  hour  of  midnight  he  would  crawl  out  of  bed, 
get  down  upon  his  knees,  and  pray  for  God  to 
come  to  their  help. 

Lots  were  sold  for  one-fourth  cash,  the  balance 
on  one,  two,  and  three  years'  time.  Some  of  this 
paper   was   negotiated   to   Eastern    parties.     The 


366  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

banks  in  Lincoln  offered  to  take  this  paper  at  a 
discount  of  twenty  per  cent,  and  the  personal  in- 
dorsement of  the  trustees.  The  trustees  declined 
this  offer.  Again  the  work  stopped.  The  Board 
met.  The  outlook  was  dark  in  the  extreme. 
The  trustees  looked  ominously  at  each  other. 
Some  said :  "  The  thing  is  a  failure."  Bishop 
Warren  was  present,  and  listened  with  deep  in- 
terest to  the  long  and  weary  discussions.  Finally 
the  bishop  said :  ^^  I  will  give  you  a  thousand 
dollars."  The  chancellor  said :  "  That  will  not 
relieve  us."  "  What  do  you  think  I  ought  to 
do  ?"  "  Give  us  ten  thousand  dollars,"  said  the 
chancellor. 

The  bishop  replied,  "  I  will  take  five  thousand 
dollars  worth  of  lots  and  five  thousand  dollars 
of  your  paper,  on  condition  that  you  sell  the  re- 
maining collateral,"  amounting  to  over  ten  thou- 
sand dollars.  Dr.  Creighton  sold  that  paper 
within  a  week,  and  telegraphed  the  bishop  asking 
if  he  (Dr.  Creighton)  should  draw  on  him  for  the 
ten  thousand  dollars.  The  bishop  replied  affirm- 
atively, and  Dr.  Creighton  drew  the  money. 
The  financial  credit  of  the  university  from  that 
hour  was  at  par.  The  trustees  breathed  easy; 
the  clouds  began  to  break  and  roll  away ;  work 
on  the  building  was  pushed,  and  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  day  of  September,  1888,  the  Nebraska  Wes- 
leyan    University    was    informally    opened.      A 


-    METHODIST  EDUCATION  UNIFIED.       367 

handful  of  students,  with  a  few  friends  of  the 
institution,  met  in  the  library  hall,  on  the  third 
floor  of  the  building.  Dr.  W.  G.  Miller,  presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  presiding 
elder  of  the  Lincoln  District,  conducted  the  re- 
ligious services.  Chancellor  Creighton  delivered 
a  short  address,  and  the  writer  followed  with  a 
brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  Methodist  educa- 
tion in  Nebraska.  The  few  who  were  privileged 
to  be  there  will  probably  never  forget  that 
memorable  occasion.  The  formal  opening  of  the 
university  took  place  in  the  university  chapel,  Octo- 
ber 24th,  when  Bishop  John  P.  Newman  delivered 
an  able  and  exceedingly  interesting  address  on 
the  occasion,  and  Chancellor  Creighton  gave  his 
inaugural,  which  was  an  able  review  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  university  up  to  that  time.  Governor 
John  M.  Thayer  followed  with  a  well-timed  im- 
promptu address,  and  one  of  the  greatest  educa- 
tional enterprises  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  inaugurated. 

It  will  be  observed  by  the  "Plan  of  Agree- 
ment" that  the  Nebraska  Wesleyan  University 
is  the  property  of  all  the  Annual  Conferences  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  State. 
Second,  that  the  university  includes,  "  as  con- 
tributory or  allied  institutions,  the  schools  and 
colleges  at  present  or  hereafter  coming  under  the 
control   of  the    Methodist  Episcopal   Church  in 


368  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

Nebraska."  Every  academy  and  college  that 
shall  hereafter  become  the  property  of  the  Church 
in  Nebraska  will  be  part  of  this  great  university. 

The  wisdom  of  this  plan  will  appear  if  we 
take  into  view  a  few  facts  : 

First.  The  age  in  which  we  live  is  one  of  the 
most  intense  mental  activity.  One  high  in  au- 
thority in  our  Church  said  in  a  letter  to  the  writer 
some  time  ago,  touching  this  matter :  ^'  We  are 
in  great  need  of  the  best  possible  workmen, 
with  the  best  possible  training.  Not  a  shred 
of  Christian  faith  will  survive  that  can  not 
be  defended  on  the  hottest  field,  and  we  are 
compelled  to  go  into  the  death-struggle  for  the 
Church  with  strong,  scholarly  men,  who  can  com- 
mand the  attention  and  confidence  of  the  people. 
This  makes  it  necessary  for  us  to  have  the  best 
possible  training-schools.  Our  university  must 
be  second  to  none  on  the  earth.  If  we  can  make 
her  the  peer  of  the  best,  so  that  our  graduates 
shall  be  honored  among  any  company  of  college 
men,  then  we  can  expect  to  retain  our  hold  upon 
the  confidence  and  patronage  of  the  public.  I 
am  sure  we  shall  come  far  short  of  this  if  we  go 
into  the  fight  with  little,  poor  colleges,  that  have 
only  the  name  and  not  the  appliances  of  colleges. 
The  freshman  and  suphomore  years  can  be  taught 
by  drill-masters,  whose  salaries  need  never  be 
large;  but  in  the  junior  and  senior  years,  where  a 


METHODIST  EDUCATIOIf  UNIFIED.        369 

Dumber  of  elective  studies  are  furnished  by  our 
best  universities,  thus  enabling  the  students  to  start 
somewhat  towards  their  particular  line  of  life, 
we,  too,  must  furnish  these  elective  studies, 
under  competent  professors,  or  we  must  stand 
aside  and  let  others  do  the  work.  All  this  re- 
quires money.  It  needs  no  argument  to  prove 
that  Nebraska  Methodism  is  not  capable  of  run- 
ning three  schools  of  such  magnitude  and  character ; 
but  if  she  will  combine  all  her  money  and  ener- 
gies on  one  she  may  compete  successfully  with 
the  schools  anywhere  in  the  land." 

This  is  just  what  Nebraska  Methodism  has 
done.  She  has  founded  a  university  with  a  grade 
equal  to  that  of  any  Methodist  university  in  the 
United  States,  and  is  uniting  her  money  and  en- 
ergies in  building  up  this  great  institution. 

Second.  Academies  at  diiferent  points  in  the 
State  are  already  projected,  with  the  view  of  be- 
coming parts  of  the  university.  These  will  mul- 
tiply with  years,  and  thus  feeders  to  the  university 
will  be  constantly  increasing.  At  these  academies 
the  bulk  of  education  done  by  the  Church  in  the 
State  may  be  accomplished,  and  will  be  done  at 
the  lowest  possible  expense.  Not  more  than  ten 
out  of  every  one  hundred  who  pass  through  the 
xcademy  ever  go  through  the  university;  those 
who  desire  to  do  so,  however,  can  receive  the 
greater  part  of  their  education  at  the  academy. 


370  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

where  the  expense  will  not  be  great,  and  only  the 
last  two  or  three  years  need  necessarily  be  spent 
at  the  university,  where  they  will  have  all  the  ap- 
pliances of  a  university  of  the  highest  grade. 

Third.  The  students  who  shall  graduate  from 
the  Nebraska  Wesleyan  University  will  never  be 
ashamed  of  their  Alma  Mater.  From  her  halls 
of  learning  they  will  go  forth  to  be  honored 
among  any  company  of  college  men  in  the   land. 

Fourth.  Men  who,  under  God,  have  been 
blessed  with  wealth,  and  desire  to  consecrate  that 
wealth  to  the  building  up  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
want  to  place  it  where  it  will  yield  the  largest  re- 
turns for  God.  They  are  not  willing  usually  to 
give  their  money  to  weak  and  sickly  schools, 
whose  existence  is  merely  an  experiment. 

Those  who  have  money  they  wish  to  consecrate, 
and  desire  to  place  it  where  it  will  yield  the  larg- 
est income,  will  make  no  mistake  in  endowing  the 
Nebraska  Wesleyan  University.  Here  is  an  in- 
stitution of  learning  that  will  grow  in  usefulness 
and  power  with  the  centuries. 

There  are  consecrated  men  of  means  who  are 
looking  around  to  see  where  they  can  make  the 
safest  and  most  profitable  investment  for  the  Lord. 
Should  the  eyes  of  any  such  chance  to  fall  upon 
these  pages,  they  may  rest  assured  that  the  Ne- 
braska Wesleyan  University  furnishes  a  place  for 
the  safest  and  most  profitable  investment. 


METHODIST  ED  UCA  TION  UNIFIED,        371 

Fifth.  Already  this  university,  although  only 
a  little  over  two  years  old,  has  more  property 
than  all  the  schools  connected  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Nebraska  combined,  and  all 
the  schools  run  by  private  members  of  the 
Church,  from  the  organization  of  the  Territory,  in 
1854,  to  the  present  time.  Why  this  phenomenal 
growth  ?  Why  the  wonderfully  encouraging  out- 
look of  this  university  ?  Because  she  has  behind 
her  all  the  preachers  and  all  the  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  throughout  the  en- 
tire State. 

Every  Methodist  preacher  throughout  Ne- 
braska is  an  unpaid  agent,  to  advertise,  send  stu- 
dents, and  raise  money  for  the  building  up  of 
this  institution  of  learning.  Two  hundred  miles 
wide,  and  four  hundred  miles  long  is  pre-empted 
forever  for  one  Methodist  university ;  namely, 
the  Nebraska  Wesley  an  University. 

Methodism  in  Nebraska  to-day  has  thirty-five 
thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  members, 
including  probationers;  and  three  hundred  and 
fifty-four  traveling  preachers,  including   supplies. 

On  the  same  ratio  of  increase  as  during  the 
])ast  few  years,  Methodism  in  the  State  in  ten 
years  will  have  seventy-five  thousand  members, 
and  seven  hundred  traveling  preachers.  Then 
there  will  be  seven  hundred  unpaid  agents  work- 
ing in  all  parts  of  the  State   for   this   university. 


372  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

From  more  than  seven  hundred  points  in  the 
State  will  flow  streams  of  students  and  wealth  to 
our  great  educational  center;  and  these  streams  of 
students  and  wealth  will  multiply  as  the  years 
roll  on.  If  I  were  to  utter  a  prediction,  that  I 
feel  in  my  heart  will  be  fulfilled  if  Methodism  is 
true  to  the  trust  imposed  on  her,  as  to  what  this 
university  will  be  in  ten  years  from  now,  I  should 
probably  be  called  an  enthusiast.  No  Methodist 
institution  ever  had  such  a  propitious  start. 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  RE  VIVED,       373 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

METHODISM'S  DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE 
REVIVED. 

Wha^  the  Doctrine  is — The  Great  Revival — History 
OF  THE  Bennett  Camp-meeting. 

THE  peculiar  and  distinctive  doctrine  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church — that  which 
distinguishes  her  from  all  other  Protestant 
Churches — is  the  doctrine  of  entire  sanctification, 
as  a  work  wrought  by  the  Holy  Ghost  subsequent 
to  conversion.  Our  Board  of  Bishops,  in  their 
'^  Episcopal  Address,"  on  the  first  page  of  our 
excellent  book  of  Discipline,  say:  ^^  In  1729  two 
young  men  in  England,  reading  the  Bible,  saw 
they  could  not  be  saved  without  holiness;  fol- 
lowed after  it;  and  incited  others  so  to  do.  In 
1737  they  saw  likewise  that  men  are  justified  be- 
fore they  are  sanctified  ;  but  still  holiness  was 
their  object.  God  then  thrust  them  out  to  raise 
a  holy  people."  These  words  are  quoted  by  our 
bishops,  as  they  tell  us,  from  John  and  Charles 
Wesley.  Further,  in  this  same  address,  they  say  : 
"  We  believe  that  God's  design  in  raising  up  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  was    to 


374  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

reform  the  continent,  and  spread  Scriptural  holi- 
ness over  these  lands." 

"Holiness  unto  the  Lord"  was  the  rallying 
cry  of  John  Wesley.  These  inspiring  words  be- 
came also  the  rallying  cry  of  the  founders  of 
American  Methodism.  On  the  banners  of  the 
Church  these  burning  words  were  written  by  the 
"  Fathers,"  and  then  these  banners  were  boldly 
flung  to  the  breeze.  Under  the  clean-cut,  pow- 
erful preaching  of  this  doctrine,  wonderful  revi- 
vals were  witnessed  in  many  parts  of  the  land. 
The  Church  grew  and  spread  mightily.  As  we 
neared  the  close  of  the  first  century  of  American 
Methodism,  however,  the  tide  of  spirituality  in  the 
Churches  had  gone  down  to  a  very  low  ebb.  All 
felt  the  demoralizing  influence  of  the  Civil  War. 
The  leaders  of  the  hosts  of  our  Zion  saw  and  felt 
it  most  clearly.  They  felt,  too,  the  need  of  a 
more  complete  and  thorough  consecration  of  all 
to  God.  The  bishops,  in  their  Address  to  the 
General  Conference  of  1864,  said  :  "  It  becomes 
us,  dear  brethren,  to  humble  ourselves  in  the  dust 
in  view  of  our  manifold  sins,  individual  and 
National.  We  are  yet,  it  may  be  feared,  a  haughty 
and  rebellious  people  ;  and  God  will  humble  us. 
There  can  be  no  good  reason  to  expect  the  resto- 
ration of  order  and  unity  until  we  properly  de- 
plore our  sins,  and  return  to  God  with  deep  self- 
abasement  and  fervent  prayer.     A  gracious  revival 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       375 

of  religion — deep,  pervading,  and  permanent — is 
the  great  demand  of  our  times.  AYe  beg  you, 
brethren,  turn  your  most  thoughtful  and  prayer- 
ful attention  to  this  demand.  Let  God,  our  Heav- 
enly Father,  behold  us  in  tears  and  confidence 
before  his  throne,  pleading  night  and  day,  through 
the  Redeemer,  for  the  outporing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  upon  the  Church,  the  Nation,  and  the  world. 
This  is  our  only  hope ;  let  our  faith  command 
it,  and  it  shall  be.''  The  Address  of  the  bishops 
stirred  the  hearts  of  many,  and  both  preachers 
and  laymen  began  to  feel  their  great  need.  The 
following  year  there  was  quite  an  awakening  upon 
the  subject  of  holiness.  A  camp-meeting  was 
held  on  the  Bridgeton  District,  New  Jersey  Con- 
ference. The  presiding  elder,  Rev.  Charles  H. 
Whitecar,  had  charge  of  the  meeting,  and  entire 
holiness  was  made  quite  prominent.  The  meet- 
ing was  one  of  great  interest  and  power.  Many 
went  down  into  the  cleansing  fountain,  and  re- 
turned to  their  homes  to  tell  the  wondrous  story 
of  Christ's  cleansing  power.  The  influence  of 
that  meeting  was  wide-spread.  Remarkable  re- 
vivals followed,  '^  and  the  whole  district  was  in 
fact  ablaze."  The  following  year,  1866,  another 
meeting  was  held  on  the  same  ground,  which  was 
still  more  successful.  '^  The  result  was,  the  ground 
was  literally  fire-swept.  It  flamed  with  the  glory 
of  God."     Many  ministers  and  laymen  went  down 


876  SOLITARY  PLACED  MADE  OLAD. 

into  the  pool,  were  cleansed,  and  wondrously  en- 
dued with  power.  The  tidings  of  these  meetings 
spread  far  and  near.  They  became  the  topic  of 
conversation,  not  only  in  our  Church,  but  in 
other  Churches  as  well  ;  and  a  devoted  Christian 
belonging  to  a  sister  Church  uttered  the  follow- 
ing prophecy  :  It  was  publicly  declared  ^'  that 
within  four  years  camp-meetings  would  be  held 
over  this  land  for  the  promotion  of  holiness,  and 
that  in  that  very  section  there  would  be  a  great 
gathering  of  God's  people  of  diiferent  names  in 
this  interest."  The  next  year  the  first  National 
Camp-meeting  for  the  Promotion  of  Holiness  was 
held  at  Vineland,  and  the  above  prophecy  was 
literally  fulfilled. 

A  public  call  for  a  meeting  of  ministers  and 
laymen,  favorable  to  holding  a  camp-meeting  for 
the  promotion  of  entire  sanctification,  was  made, 
to  meet  June  13,  1867,  at  the  Methodist  Book- 
room,  1018  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia.  The  call 
was  signed  by  Rev.  A.  E.  Ballard,  presiding  elder, 
and  twelve  others. 

At  the  appointed  time  many  ministers  and  lay- 
men, with  hearts  all  aglow  with  heaven-fire  and 
holy  zeal,  assembled.  Rev.  George  Hughes,  in 
his  "  Days  of  Power,''  gives  the  following  de- 
scription of  that  first  council: 

"  Hallowed  memories  cluster  around  the  coun- 
cil-chamber, at   1018    Arch  Street,   Philadelphia. 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       377 

The  morning  of  June  13,  1867,  will  never  be 
forgotten.  It  was  an  auspicious  morning.  A 
holy  atmosphere  seemed  to  pervade  the  room. 
The  rustle  of  angel's  wings  was  almost  percepti- 
ble to  mortal  ear.  The  presence  of  the  Triune 
God — Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost — was  dis- 
tinctly apprehended.  Every  face  was  briglit; 
every  spirit  was  joyous.  Never  did  good  men 
grasp  more  warmly  each  other  by  the  hand 
Brother  Osborn  was  there,  ready  to  stand  in  his 
lot,  and  never  more  satisfied  that  this  was  of  God. 
The  time-honored  Dr.  Roberts,  of  Baltimore,  oc- 
cupied his  place,  his  countenance  glowing  with 
delight,  and  his  soul  magnifying  the  Lord  Jesus 
exceedingly.  Rev.  John  S.  Inskip  shouted  aloud 
the  praises  of  God  as  he  grasped  each  fraternal 
hand;  he  was  full  nerved  for  the  battle.  The 
presiding  elder.  Rev.  A.  E.  Ballard,  genial,  kind 
spirited,  determined,  was  in  the  company. 

"The  beloved  disciple — our  own  ascended 
brother,  Rev.  Alfred  Cookman — with  his  saintly 
face  and  dignified  mien,  was  ready  to  be  conse- 
crated on  this  altar.  Close  to  him  was  Rev.  An- 
drew Longacre,  who  was  his  bosom  companion, 
glorying  only  in  the  cross,  and  saying  none  other 
thing  than  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleanseth  from 
all  sin.  Lovely  were  those  brothers  in  their 
lives,  even  as  David  and  Jonathan;  and  in  death 

they  were  not  divided.     We  can  not  give  a   full 
32 


878  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

list.  It  was  not  a  large  meeting  as  to  numbers, 
but  it  was  composed  of  united,  earnest  men,  dis- 
posed to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  the  oc- 
casion, with  a  single  eye  to  the  divine  glory. 

"  The  meeting  being  called  to  order,  Rev.  Dr. 
George  C.  M.  Roberts,  of  Baltimore,  was  elected 
chairman,  and  Rev.  John  Thomson  secretary. 
The  president  then  led  in  prayer.  He  poured 
out  his  soul  in  thankfulness  that  he  was  permitted 
to  see  that  favored  hour.  He  was  like  a  patri- 
arch talking  with  God.  He  knew  the  way  of 
access.  He  grasped  firmly  the  horns  of  the  altar. 
He  pleaded  for  divine  aid.  He  invoked  wisdom 
and  strength.  He  made  his  plea  on  the  ground 
of  Christ's  atoning  blood.  He  put  forth  a  hand 
of  faith;  it  took  fast  hold  of  the  promise.  The 
answering  tokens  were  given. 

"  Rev.  J.  S.  Inskip  followed  in  prayer.  His 
voice  was  tremulous  with  emotion.  His  soul  was 
feeling  the  mighty  responsibilities  of  the  occasion. 
His  vision  was  expanded  to  compass  the  thrilling 
interests  involved  in  the  action  of  that  day.  He 
was  earnest  in  supplication  for  divine  guidance. 
He  besought  the  Lord  not  to  carry  his  servants 
up  hence  unless  his  presence  should  go  with  them. 
The  prayer  was  divinely  indited.  The  adorable 
intercessor,  pleading  on  his  behalf,  even  with 
groanings  that  could  not  be  uttered,  was  in  his 
servant's  prayer.     That  hour  of  communioa  with 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       379 

Heaven  will  never  be  obliterated  from  the 
memory  of  those  privileged  to  be  present.  The 
*  Master  of  assemblies '  was  there.  The  cloud, 
big  with  blessings,  was  just  overhead.  A  solemn 
awe  rested  upon  the  whole  company.  A  divine 
hush  was  upon  every  spirit.  The  wealth  of  eter- 
nity was  in  every  bosom.  The  joy  of  the  Lord 
v/as  the  strength  of  the  little  assembly.  Some 
found  relief  in  tears;  others  praised  the  Lord 
aloud.  O,  how  glorious  it  was  to  be  there! 
Undying  praises  to  the  Lamb !" 

Under  these  circumstances  tlie  great  holiness 
revival  was  inaugurated.  Ten  hundred  and 
eighteen  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia,  was  the  Jeru- 
salem upper  room  to  that  spirit-baptized  band  of 
holy  men.  Forth  from  that  little  room  rolled 
a  wave  of  revival  flame  that  soon  girdled  the 
globe. 

At  that  council  arrangements  were  made  for 
holding  the  first  camp-meeting  for  the  promotion 
of  holiness.  The  meeting  was  held  at  Vineland, 
beginning  Wednesday,  July  17th,  and  closing 
Friday,  July  26,  1867.  On  this  first  meeting  God 
put  his  seal  of  approbation.  The  meeting  was 
crowned  with  wondrous  success.  Hundreds  went 
down  into  the  cleansing  fountain,  and  large  num- 
bers were  clearly  converted.  At  the  close,  the 
people,  by  rising  to  their  feet,  expressed  the  ear- 
nest desire  to   have   another   meeting   of  similar 


380  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

character  the  following  year.  A  committee  was 
appointed  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect 
the  desire  of  the  people.  The  next  meeting  was 
held  at  Manheim,  with  the  same  happy  results; 
and  every  year  since  similar  meetings  have  been 
held.  Chaplain  McCabe  once  said:  *^  You  ought 
to  attend  one  holiness  camp-meeting  before  going 
to  heaven.'^  A  holiness  camp-meeting  is  in  fact 
about  as  near  heaven  as  one  can  get  in  this  world. 

In  the  spring  of  1871,  Bishop  Ames  invited 
Rev.  J.  S.  Inskip  and  his  wife  to  accompany  him 
to  his  spring  Conferences.  The  kindly  request 
was  cheerfully  complied  with.  They  accompa- 
nied the  bishop,  kindling  a  mighty  fire  of  holi- 
ness at  every  Conference,  and  creating  a  wonderful 
thirst  for  purity  in  many  hearts. 

The  Nebraska  Conference  met  at  Lincoln, 
March  29,  1871.  Brother  and  Sister  Inskip  were 
present.  On  the  first  day  the  following  paper 
was  read,  and  unanimously  adopted : 

"  Whereas,  We  have  learned  with  great 
pleasure  of  the  labors  of  Brother  and  Sister  In- 
skip with  the  various  Conferences  of  the  West 
during  the  last  few  weeks ;  and  whereas^  our 
hearts  are  in  deep  sympathy  with  them  and  the 
great  special  work  in  which  they  are  engaged ; 
therefore, 

'^Resolved,  That  we  do  most  cordially  welcome 
them  to  our  Conference,  and  would  most  respect- 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       381 

fully  request  that  Brother  Inskip  take  charge  of 
our  morning  meetings  and  such  other  social  re- 
ligious exercises  as  may  be  held  during  the  ses- 
sion of  the  Conference." 

A  meeting  of  about  one  hour  each  morning 
before  the  Conference  business  began,  was  con- 
ducted by  Brother  and  Sister  Inskip.  These  were 
meetings  of  wondrous  power.  We  had  never  seen 
anything  like  them  before.  Brother  and  Sister 
Inskip  told  their  experience  of  entire  sanctifica- 
tion.  They  spoke  with  rapture  of  the  new-found 
joy  and  marvelous  power  of  holiness.  Sister  In- 
skip's  singing  was  the  most  thrilling.  Under  its 
heavenly  strains  all  hearts  were  melted.  There 
was  no  lounging  around  the  doors  before  the  Con- 
ference sessions  opened.  Ministers  and  laymen 
flocked  to  the  morning  meetings.  Many  were 
fully  saved,  and  the  desire  for  holiness  was  planted 
in  many  hearts. 

The  following  year,  arrangements  were  made 
for  holding  a  camp-meeting  for  the  promotion  of 
holiness  at  Bennett.  Rev.  W.  B.  M.  Colt,  of  the 
Oak  Creek  Circuit,  and  Rev.  C.  A.  King,  of 
Schuyler,  were  both  in  the  experience  of  full  sal- 
vation, and  were  the  leaders  in  arranging  for  and 
conducting  this  meeting. 

A  beautiful  grove  near  Bennett  was  selected, 
the  ground  was  prepared,  and  on  Tuesday,  August 
13,  1872,  the  first  meeting  for  the   promotion   of 


882  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

holiness  in  the  State  of  Nebraska  began.  The 
attendance  was  not  large,  but  the  meeting  from 
the  very  beginning  was  marked  with  unusual 
manifestations  of  divine  power.  At  every  meet- 
ing souls  were  saved.  Many  were  converted  and 
many  wholly  sanctified.  On  each  succeeding  day 
the  tide  of  spirituality  rose  higher  and  higher, 
and  the  culminating  point  was  reached  on  the 
Sabbath,  which  was  the  great  day  of  the  feast. 
The  overshadowing  presence  of  the  Shekinah 
was  felt  by  all  throughout  the  entire  day.  Dur- 
ing the  love-feast,  which  lasted  one  hour  and  five 
minutes,  one  hundred  and  five  testimonies  were 
given,  and  the  congregation  sung  fifteen  diiferent 
times.  We  had  never  witnessed  anything  like 
this.  It  seemed  that  it  was  Pentecost  repeated. 
The  whole  day  was  one  of  power.  At  this  meet- 
ing Mrs.  Davis  and  myself  and  our  daughter 
AUie,  all  sought  and  found  the  great  blessing. 

I  had  been  under  conviction  for  heart-purity 
for  some  time,  and  went  to  this  meeting  with 
somewhat  confused  ideas  touching  the  doctrine, 
and  with  a  religious  experience  not  at  all  satis- 
fying. Under  the  clean-cut  preaching  of  the 
doctrine,  and  the  many  ringing  testimonies,  we 
were  led  to  the  most  rigid  and  thorough  heart- 
searchings.  The  spiritual  conflict  with  me  was 
long  and  severe.  I  was  at  that  time  presiding 
elder  of  the   Lincoln    District.     To   go  down   in 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       383 

the  straw  at  the  altar  as  a  seeker  of  holiness  was 
indeed  humiliating.     What   would  the  people  of 
my  district  think  of  me?     Would  they  think  that 
I  had  been  preaching  all  these  years  without  re- 
ligion ?     Would  they  not  say  :  "  During  all  these 
years  you  have  been  a  hypocrite?''     What  would 
the   preachers  say  ?     What   effect   would   such   a 
step  have  upon   my  future    appointments   in   the 
Conference  ?     These    and    many    other   questions 
confronted  me  ;  but  I  had  little  difficulty  in  dis- 
posing of  them  all.     Then  the  enemy  said  :  "Are 
you    willing  to   be  called   one   of   the   sanctified 
ones?    Are  you  willing  to   have   the   people  say, 
^  He  thinks  himself  holier   than    we  V     Are  you 
willing  to  take  the  odium  that  will  attach  to  you 
if  you  seek  this  blessing?"     All   these   questions 
I  answered  in  the  affirmative,  as  they  came,  one 
by  one.     The   final   test   was  applied.     The   last 
great  question  came.     It  was   a  staggering   one  : 
"  Will  you  publish  to  the  world   the  great  doc- 
trine of  holiness?"     I   hesitated.     The   question 
was  pressed  home  to   my   heart   with   increasing 
force  and  power.     Still  I   hesitated.      It  was  a 
hard  question   to  answer,  and  involved  grave  re- 
sponsibilities.    The  conflict  went  on  in  my  mind 
for  two  days  or  more.     No   one  on    the   ground 
knew   anything  about   it.      It    was  a   secret  but 
mighty   conflict   with   the  powers  of  darkness,  a 
hand-to-hand  grapple  with  the  arch-fiend  of  hell. 


384  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Again  the  question  came:  "Will  you  fling  to  the 
breeze  the  banner  of  holiness,  and  under  that 
banner  will  you  march  V^  Still  I  hesitated.  But 
finally  I  said,  as  I  lay  with  my  face  in  the  straw: 
*'  Yes,  Lord,  I  will."  The  battle  was  ended,  the 
enemy  completely  routed,  the  victory  gained ;  and 
there  came  into  my  heart  a  wonderfully  sweet 
peace.  There  was  no  great  ecstasy ;  no  rapturous 
joy ;  no  great  emotion.  But  a  sweet  quiet 
reigned  within.  *^The  peace  of  God  which  pass- 
eth  all  understanding"  took  possession  of  my 
soul.  God  said  to  his  ancient  people  :  "  O  that 
thou  hadst  hearkened  to  my  commandments! 
Then  had  thy  peace  been  as  a  river,  and  thy 
righteousness  as  the  weaves  of  the  sea."  I  saw 
and  knew  the  meaning  of  that  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture as  never  before.  Look  at  the  majestic  river 
as  it  sweeps  onward,  calm  and  unruffled,  to  the 
ocean,  with  scarcely  a  ripple  upon  its  surface. 
There  may  be  disturbing  elements  on  either  side 
of  that  river.  Along  its  banks  cities  may  be 
burned,  bloody  battles  may  be  fought,  raging  epi- 
demics may  sweep  away  thousands  of  the  people; 
but  the  river,  undisturbed,  moves  onward  amid 
all  these  scenes,  "  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
forever."  "  Men  may  come  and  men  may  go,  but 
I  go  on  forever."  It  is  a  beautiful  emblem  of 
the  peace  which  takes  possession  of  the  saved 
soul.     There  may  be  disturbing  elements  all  along 


DISTINCTIVJi  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       385 

the  Christian's  pathway;  there  may  be  disturbing 
elements  in  the  home,  in  business  matters,  in  the 
Church,  in  the  community.  But  away  down  in 
the  soul  is  the  settled  peace,  the  great  calm;  and 
this  peace,  this  undisturbed  calm,  flows  on  amid 
all  these  disturbing  elements,  the  same  day  after 
day,  and  year  after  year. 

"It  sweetly  cheers  our  drooping  hearts 
In  this  dark  vale  of  tears ; 
Life,  light,  find  joy  it  still  imparts, 
And  quells  our  rising  fears." 

Isaac  Watts's  hymn,  altered  by  John  Wesley, 
also  beautifully  expresses  it : 

"  The  men  of  grace  have  found 

Glory  begun  below; 
Celestial  fruit  on  earthly  ground 
From  faith  and  hope  may  grow. 

Then  let  our  songs  abound, 
And  every  tear  be  dry ; 
We  're  marching  through  Immanu-4's  ground, 
To  fairer  worlds  on  high." 

At  this  first  camp-meeting  for  the  promotion 
of  holiness  "The  Nebraska  State  Holiness  Asso- 
ciation" was  organized,  and  every  year  since  a 
camp-meeting  for  the  promotion  of  holiness  and 
the  conversion  of  sinners  has  been  held ;  and 
on  every  one  of  these  meetings  God's  seal  of  ap- 
probation has  been  placed.  Not  one  has  been 
barren  of  success.  I  am  sorry  I  have  not  at 
33 


386  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

hand  a  full  list  of  the  names  of  those  who  took 
an  active  part  at  that  first  meeting,  and  who  were 
the  charter  members  of  the  Association.  The 
following  were  among  the  number  :  Rev.  W.  B.  M. 
Colt,  Rev.  C.  A.  King,  Rev.  George  S.  Alexander, 
Rev.  George  Worley,  Rev.  Thomas  Crowder,  Rev. 
H.  Burch,  Rev.  H.  T.  Davis,  Professor  J.  M. 
McKenzie,  Hon.  C.  C.  White,  Caleb  Worley. 

At  the  fifteenth  session  of  the  Nebraska  Con- 
ference, held  in  Lincoln,  beginning  September  15, 
1875,  the  following  paper  was  adopted  : 

"  Whereas,  There  is  a  growing  interest 
among  the  people  on  the  doctrine  of  entire  sanc- 
tification,  as  held  and  taught  by  the  founder  of 
our  Church;  and  whereas^  we  believe  the  Na- 
tional Association  for  the  Promotion  of  Holiness 
are  safe  and  successful  teachers  of  the  same; 
therefore, 

^^Resolved,  That  we,  as  a  Conference,  invite, 
them  to  hold  a  camp-meeting  among  us  at  their 
own  convenience  during  the  summer  of  1876,  and 
that  we  pledge  our  co-operation  to  make  such  a 
meeting  a  success." 

The  National  Association  accepted  the  invita- 
tion, and  fixed  June  27th  as  the  time  for  the 
meeting  to  begin.  The  officers  of  the  State  Ho- 
liness Association  searched  diligently  and  widely 
for  a  suitable  place,  and  after  careful  and  thor- 
ough search,  the  grounds  at  Bennett  were  selected 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       387 

for  the  meeting.  A  large  outlay  was  made  in 
digging  wells,  fitting  up  the  grounds,  and  pre- 
paring for  the  coming  great  occasion.  The  meet- 
ing began  at  the  appointed  time.  Only  two 
members  of  the  National  Association  could  be 
present — Rev.  S.  H.  Henderson  and  Rev.  J.  B. 
Foote.  These  two  men,  however,  were  equal  for 
the  occasion.  They  came  in  "  the  fullness  of  the 
blessing  of  the  Gospel,"  and  their  preaching  and 
teachings  were  "  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit 
and  power."  The  work  at  this  meeting  was 
thorough,  the  convictions  were  deep,  the  conver- 
sions clear,  and  the  sanctifications  unmistakable. 
Then  another  remarkable  feature  of  this  meeting 
was  the  speed  with  which  the  work  was  done. 
The  people  of  God  had  gathered  such  a  head  of 
divine  power,  and  were  so  strong  in  faith  that  all 
they  had  to  do  was  to  "  ask  and  receive."  Sin- 
ners were  converted  and  believers  wholly  sancti- 
fied almost  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  altar. 
At  one  meeting  the  altar  was  crowded  with 
seekers.  Two  rows  of  seats,  reaching  clear  across 
the  tabernacle,  were  filled.  During  one  season 
of  prayer  every  seeker,  save  one  or  two,  was 
saved.  A  cloud  of  glory  seemed  to  settle  down 
upon  the  congregation,  and  a  shock  of  divine 
power  was  felt  by  all  present,  such  as  is  seldom 
the  privilege  of  any  to  feel.  Brother  Foote  said 
to  the  writer:  *^  I  never  saw  or  felt  anything  like 


388  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

it  in  my  life."  Over  the  entrance  to  the  grounds, 
in  large  letters,  were  printed  on  white  canvas 
the  words,  "  Holiness  unto  the  Lord."  This 
motto  made  a  wonderful  impression  upon  nearly 
all  who  came  upon  the  grounds.  As  the  people 
passed  under  this  banner  they  seemed  to  feel  that 
they  were  treading  upon  holy  ground.  An  un- 
godly man,  who  was  clearly  converted  at  one  of 
the  meetings,  said  :  "Just  as  I  passed  under  that 
banner,  on  which  were  inscribed  the  words, 
'  Holiness  unto  the  Lord,'  I  was  most  powerfully 
convicted."  That  man  was  just  as  powerfully  con- 
verted, and  left  the  grounds  rejoicing  in  a  Sav- 
ior's love.  A  mysterious  and  hallowed  influence 
was  felt  all  over  the  grounds,  that  even  the  most 
ungodly  could  not  possibly  resist.  Avery  wicked 
man,  after  being  in  one  of  the  meetings  a  short 
time  and  witnessing  the  stirring  and  happy  scenes, 
walked  silently  away,  and  as  he  passed  out  of  the 
grounds,  said  to  a  friend :  "  My  God,  I  wish  I 
was  a  Christian  !"  A  Christian  lady  came  upon 
the  grounds  on  Monday.  Afterwards  she  said  to 
me,  in  substance:  "The  moment  I  entered  the 
encampment  I  was  awed  into  reverence.  It 
seemed  that  just  above  the  grounds,  all  through 
the  branches  of  the  tree-tops,  innumerable  angels 
from  the  skies,  robed  in  white,  were  hovering." 
It  did  seem  at  times  that  we  could  almost  see 
these  heavenly  visitants,  hear  their  sweet  melody, 


DISTINCTI VE  DOCTRINE  BE  VI VED.      389 

and  feel  our  cheeks  fanned  by  their  snowy  wings. 
The  results  of  this  meeting  were  far  more  glo- 
rious than  we  had  most  sanguinely  hoped.  Two 
other  meetings  were  held  by  the  National  Asso- 
ciation— one  in  1877,  and  the  other  in  1879.  At 
eaoti  of  these  meetings  the  same  divine  power 
was  manifested,  and  the  same  gracious  results 
reached.  At  the  last  named  meeting  the  State 
Holiness  Association  purchased  from  Mr.  Rog- 
gencamp  the  Bennett  Camp-grounds.  Here  on 
these  hallowed  grounds  for  eighteen  years  scenes 
have  been  witnessed  that  have  delighted  the 
angels  in  heaven,  rejoiced  believers  on  earth,  and 
enraged  the  demons  in  hell. 

At  one  of  these  meetings  an  old  man,  sixty 
years  of  age,  said  :  "  I  came  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  on  horseback  to  attend  this  meeting 
and  seek  holiness,  and  I  praise  God  I  have  got 
what  I  came  for.  I  am  more  than  rewarded  for 
my  long  and  weary  ride.'*  From  this  sacred  en- 
campment have  rolled  forth  waves  of  holy  influ- 
ence that  have  touched,  not  only  distant  points  in 
our  own  State,  but  have  reached  and  permeated 
distant  places  in  many  other  States  as  well.  Many, 
we  have  reason  to  believe,  will  praise  God  forever 
for  the  Bennett  camp-meetings. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  one  who  is  converted 
to  tell  to  the  world  what  the  Lord  has  done  for 
his  soul.     It  is  the  duty  of  every   one   who   has 


390  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

been  wholly  sanctified,  in  a  meek  way  to  declare 
that  fact  to  the  world.  David  said  :  "  Come  and 
hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  declare 
what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul/^  Paul  says : 
''  With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  righteous- 
ness, and  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto 
salvation/'  John  says:  "They  overcame  him  by 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  the  word  of  their 
testimony.'*  We  are  to  confess  to  the  world  just 
what  Christ  has  done  for  us;  no  more,  no  less. 
In  making  this  confession,  however,  great  care 
should  be  taken  lest  we  seem  to  boast  of  our 
superior  piety.  Holiness  is  a  term  that  is  odious 
to  many,  because  they  associate  with  it  superior 
sanctity,  and  back  of  that  hypocrisy.  So  it  be- 
comes us  to  be  very  judicious  in  our  testimonies. 
Christ  commands  us  to  be  "  wise  as  serpents  and 
harmless  as  doves." 

While  it  is  our  duty  to  be  pronounced  upon 
this  subject — to  stand  up  for  the  doctrine — we 
should  not  always  be  harping  upon  our  expe- 
rience. There  is  great  danger  of  our  becoming 
spiritually  proud.  Many  well-meaning  people 
actually  become  so  before  they  are  aware  of  it. 
There  is  danger  of  our  becoming  men  of  "one 
idea,''  of  our  becoming  fanatical.  Bishop  William 
Taylor  says :  "  There  is  only  one  step  from  sanc- 
tification  to  fanaticism."  And  alas!  too  many 
take  that  fatal  step. 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       391 

There  is  clanger  of  our  becoming  too  tenacious 
touching  the  use  of  terms.  Some  have  pet 
phrases,  and  in  describing  the  great  work  wrought 
in  the  soul  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  they 
always  use  the  same  set  phrase,  and  consider  it 
almost  an  unpardonable  sin,  or  at  least  a  lack  of 
moral  courage,  to  vary  in  the  least  from  their  set 
terms  and  pet  phrases.  Mr.  Wesley  was  not  a 
stickler  for  any  set  terms.  He  says  :  '^  I  have  no 
particular  fondness  for  the  term  perfection;  it  sel- 
dom occurs,  either  in  my  preaching  or  writings. 
It  is  my  opponents  who  thrust  it  upon  me  con- 
tinually, and  ask  me  what  I  mean  by  it.  That  it  is 
a  Scriptural  term,  is  undeniable.  Therefore  none 
ought  to  object  to  the  use  of  the  term.  But  I 
still  think  that  perfection  is  only  another  term 
for  holiness,  or  the  image  of  God  in  man.  '  God 
made  man  perfect,^  I  think,  is  just  the  same  as 
*  he  made  him  holy.'"     (Vol.  YI,  p.  535.) 

"  The  moment  a  sinner  is  justified,  his  heart  is 
cleansed  in  a  low  degree ;  but  yet  he  has  not  a 
clean  heart  in  the  full  proper  sense  till  he  is  made 
perfect  in  love.'*     (Vol.  V,  p.  284.) 

In  March,  1761,  in  his  journal  he  says:  "I 
met  again  with  those  who  believe  God  has  deliv- 
ered them  from  the  root  of  bitterness.*' 

And  again  says  he :  "Abundance  have  been 
convinced  of  sin ;  very  many  have  found  peace 
with  God,  and    in   London  only,  I  believe,   full 


392  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

two  hundred  have  been  brought  into  glorious 
liberty.'' 

In  his  journal  of  June,  1765,  he  says  :  "  Many 
others  are  groaning  after  full  salvation.'' 

In  writing  to  Miss  H.  A.  Roe,  in  1776,  he 
says :  ^'  Certainly  before  the  root  of  sin  is  taken 
awayy  believers  may  live  above  the  power  of  it." 

In  writing  to  Mrs.  Crosby,  in  1761,  he  says  : 
"The  work  goes  on  mightily  here  in  London. 
I  believe  within  five  weeks,  six  in  one  class  have 
received  remission  of  sins,  and  five  in  one  band 
received  a  second  blessing." 

"  This  morning  before  you  left  us,  one  found 
peace  and  one  the  second  blessirig."  (Journal, 
June,  1763.) 

In  writing  to  Miss  Jane  Hilton,  in  1774,  he 
•says:  "It  is  exceedingly  certain  that  God  did 
give  you  the  second  blessing,  properly  so  called. 
He  delivered  you  from  the  root  of  bitterness ;  from 
inbred  sin,  as  well  as  actual  sin." 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  John  Wesley  was 
not  a  stickler  for  any  set  phrase.  He  used  a 
great  variety  of  terms  in  describing  the  work  of 
holiness — "perfection,"  "holiness,"  "perfect  in 
love,"  "  glorious  liberty,"  "  the  root  of  bitterness 
taken  away,"  "second  blessing,"  "full  salva- 
tion " — all  these  he  used,  and  these  are  all  Scrip- 
tural terms. 

John,   the    beloved    disciple,   uses   the  phrase 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       393 

"perfect  love.^^  "Herein  is  our  love  made  per- 
fect. .  .  .  Because  as  he  is,  so  are  we  in  this 
world/'     (1  John  iv,  17.) 

^'Perfect  love  casteth  out  fear;  because  fear  hath 
torment.  He  that  feareth  is  not  made  perfect  in 
love.''     (Verse  18.) 

Paul  used  the  term  "holiness."  "Follow 
peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.''  (Heb.  xii,  14.) 
Paul  used  the  phrase  "  fullness  of  the  blessing 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ ''  (Rom.  xv,  29),  and 
"  full  assurance  of  faith.''  (Heb.  x,  22.)  From 
these,  doubtless,  Mr.  Wesley  got  the  phrase  "  full 
salvation."  Paul  used  the  phrase  "  second 
benefit."  "  I  was  minded  to  come  unto  you 
before,  that  ye  might  have  a  second  benefit." 
(2  Cor.  i,  15.) 

From  this  passage,  doubtless,  came  into  use,  by 
John  Wesley  and  others,  the  words  "  second 
blessing." 

Paul  also  used  the  -phrase  so  often  used  by' 
Wesley,  "  root  of  bitterness."  "  Follow  peace 
with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord.  Looking  diligently  lest  any 
man  fail  of  the  grace  of  God ;  lest  any  7'oot  of 
bitterness  springing  up  trouble  you."  (Heb. 
xii,  15.) 

So,  then,  these  terms,  "  full  salvation,"  "  per- 
fect love,"    "  second    blessing,"   "  delivered  from 


394  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

the  root  of  bitterness" — all  are  Scriptural  and  all 
are  legitimate. 

There  is  danger,  too,  of  our  becoming  censori- 
ous and  dogmatic. 

Whenever  Satan  can  succeed  in  switching  us 
oif  on  any  one  of  these  lines,  our  influence  and 
power  for  usefulness  is  to  a  great  extent  crippled. 

Against  all  these  dangers  we  should  carefully 
guard.  More  and  more  every  day  do  I  see  the 
great  importance  of  living  holiness. 

Mr.  Punshon,  the  great  English  divine,  in  giv- 
ing his  estimate  of  Rev.  Alfred  Cookman,  says: 
"  If  I  would  write  down  my  impression  of  Alfred 
Cookman's  character,  I  find  myself  at  a  loss;  for 
I  can  scarcely  convey  my  estimate  of  him  in 
sober  words.  I  have  been  privileged  to  meet 
with  many  gifted  and  godly  men  in  different 
lands,  and  in  various  branches  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  I  speak  advisedly  when  I  say  that  I 
never  met  with  one  who  so  well  realized  my  idea 
of  complete  devotedness.  When  some  pagan 
questioners  asked  a  Christian  of  old  about  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus,  and  were  disposed  to  ascribe  its 
spread  to  its  loftier  thought  and  pure  truth,  the 
Christian  made  for  answer  :  '  We  do  not  speak 
greater  things,  but  we  live.^  This  life,  wherever 
it  is  embodied,  is  the  highest  power.  And  it  was 
felt  to  be  so  in  the  wide  sphere  in  which  Alfred 
Cookman  was  permitted  to  testify  for  the  Master 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       395 

whom  he  loved.  There  are  men  of  sterling 
worth,  who  manage  to  hide  their  excellences  from 
their  fellows,  living  amongst  men  unappreciated, 
because  they  have  no  witness, — like  some  bird  of 
rare  plumage,  of  whose  beauty  the  world  knew 
not  until  they  caught  the  luster  which  flashed 
from  its  parting  wing.  He  was  not  one  of 
these.  His  life  was  a  perpetual  testimony  that 
God  can  come  down  to  man,  and  that  man  can 
be  lifted  up  to  God.  It  was  impossible  to  doubt 
that,  ^  swift-like,  he  lived  in  heaven.^  There 
were  many  who  objected  to  his  doctrine;  there 
were  none  within  the  range  of  his  acquaintance 
who  failed  to  be  impressed,  and  few  who  failed  to 
be  influenced  by  his  life." 

What  is  needed  more  than  any  one  tiling  is, 
not  "  to  speak  greater  things,  hut  to  live.^^  What 
we  want  in  order  to  speedily  capture  this  world 
for  Christ  is,  "living  epistles"  of  Christ's  power 
to  save  from  all  sin — '^  known  and  read  of  all 
men."  Theodore  L.  Cuyler  has  well  said  :  "  The 
sermons  in  shoes  are  the  sermons  to  convert  an 
ungodly  world." 

No  irregularities  of  an  injurious  tendency,  so 
far  as  I  am  aware,  have  ever  developed  in  the 
National  Association  ;  and  no  such  irregular  tend- 
encies have  ever  been  developed  at  the  Bennett 
holiness  meetings.  At  times  they  have  cropped 
out,  but  have  been  checked    at   once.     In    other 


396  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

holiness  associations,  however,  such  irregularities 
have  been  developed,  and  have  brought  the  most 
blessed  and  desirable  of  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
Bible  into  disrepute.  This  hallowed  Bible  doc- 
trine has  suffered  very  greatly  from  the  ineffi- 
cient, inexperienced,  and  fanatical  teachers  of 
independent  holiness  associations.  This  fact  led 
the  New  England  Conference,  at  its  session  in  the 
spring  of  1889,  to  adopt  the  following  resolutions. 
These  resolutions  were  signed  by  Dr.  Daniel 
Steele,  a  member  of  the  National  Holiness  Asso- 
ciation, and  other  leading  members  of  the  Con- 
ference: 

"  The  New  England  Conference  at  its  recent  session 
passed  the  following  resolutions  in  regard  to  holiness  as- 
sociations, signed  by  Dr.  Daniel  Steele  and  other  leading 
members  of  the  Conference  : 

'^ Resolved,  That  as  pastors  we  will  not  organize  nor  as- 
sociate ourselves  with  holiness  associations  in  our  charges ; 
but  we  will  continue  in  our  regular  ministrations,  to  un- 
fold, defend,  and  enforce  this  important  doctrine  in  due 
proportion  to  our  other  doctrines,  so  that  there  shall  be 
no  occasion  for  any  of  our  members  to  resort  to  meetings 
not  under  our  pastoral  direction,  and  to  incompetent 
teachers,  whose  unguarded  instructions  may  be  disastrous 
to  spiritual  life. 

^^Resolved,  That  we  advise  our  people  not  to  organize 
or  to  associate  themselves  with  so-called  holiness  associa- 
tions, independent  of  the  Church  and  of  their  pastors. 
We  believe  that  the  meetings  of  such  associations  are 
often  the  occasion  of  jealousy  and  ill-feeling ;  that  they 
tend  to  division  in  the  Church ;  and  that  they  unjustly 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  REVIVED.       397 

reflect  upon  the  unfaithfulness  of  the  Church  and  the 
pastors  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Church." 

These  resolutions  were  not  intended  as  a  re- 
flection on  the  profession  of  holiness,  but  on  the 
independent  holiness  associations,  which  have 
developed  irregularities,  which  tend  to  greatly 
injure  the  doctrine,  and  that  are  not  warranted 
in  God's  Word. 

As  Methodists,  we  ought  not  to  need  inde- 
pendent holiness  associations.  Holiness  is  the  dis- 
tinctive and  peculiar  doctrine  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  As  loyal  Methodists,  then, 
let  us  fling  the  banner  of  holiness  to  the  breeze. 
Let  it  float  out  and  wave  over  every  Church  and 
every  society.  Let  it  be  lifted  so  high  that  all 
the  world  can  see  it.  Then  let  us  avoid  the  ex- 
travagances and  vagaries  which  have  destroyed 
the  usefulness  of  so  many  who  have  professed 
this  doctrine.  Above  all,  let  us  have  the  experi- 
ence— the  indubitable  consciousness  that  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin — then  the 
"beauty  of  holiness'*  will  shine  out  in  all  our 
words  and  looks  and  acts,  and  then  the  world  will 
be  attracted  to  it  as  certainly  as  the  needle  is  at- 
tracted to  the  pole. 


398  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED. 

IN  the  last  chapter  an  account  was  given  of  the 
great  holiness  revival,  which  rolled  like  a 
mighty  tidal  wave  over  our  entire  country,  the 
blessed  results  of  which  Nebraska  has  had  her 
share. 

In  the  present  chapter  I  desire  to  carefully 
examine  this  Bible  and  distinctive  Methodist 
doctrine ;  and  I  hope  to  make  it  so  simple  and 
plain  that  the  smallest  child  can  understand  it. 
If  understood,  none  can  reasonably  object  to  it. 
It  is  really  wonderful  how  much  is  said  in  the 
Bible  on  the  subject  of  perfection.  God  said  to 
Abraham  :  "I  am  the  Almighty  God;  walk  be- 
fore me,  and  be  thou  perfect."  (Gen.  xvii,  1.) 
Moses  said  to  the  Israelites  of  old:  ''  Thou  shalt 
be  perfect  with  the  Lord  thy  God."  (Deut.  xviii, 
13.)  "  There  was  a  man  in  the  land  of  Uz,  whose 
name  was  Job,  and  that  man  was  perfect  and  up- 
right, and  one  that  feared  God  and  eschewed 
evil."  (Job  i,  1.)  David  says:  *^  Mark  the  per- 
fect man,  and  behold  the  upright ;  for  the  end 
of  that  man  is  peace."     (Psa.  xxxvii,  37.) 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.     399 

Christ  says,  in  his  beautiful  and  inimitable 
Sermon  on  the  Mount :  "  Be  ye  therefore  perfect, 
even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  per- 
fect.''  (Matt.  V,  48.)  Paul  said  to  the  Colos- 
sians  :  *^  Stand  perfect  and  complete  in  all  the  will 
of  God.^'  (Col.  iv,  12.)  He  constantly  pointed 
believers  to  the  beautiful  heights  of  perfect  love. 
He  had  a  longing  desire  to  lead  them  up  to  this 
high  plain.  The  height  of  his  ambition  was  to 
"  present  every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus.^' 
He  said  to  the  Corinthians  :  "  Be  perfect.^'  (2  Cor. 
xiii,  11.)  The  *'  central  idea  of  Christianity/^ 
says  Bishop  Peck,  "  is  perfect  love.''  It  is  the 
sun,  around  Avhich  all  the  satellites  revolve,  and 
moving  around  this  great  center  they  rejoice  in 
its  broad,  warm,  genial,  and  life-imparting  smile. 

The  design  of  the  great  scheme  of  human  re- 
demption was  to  bring  man  from  a  state  of  sin 
and  pollution  to  a  state  of  purity  and  happiness. 
"  Christ  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  re- 
deem us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  him- 
self a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works.'' 
(Tit.  ii,  14.)  And  the  design  of  the  gospel  is  not 
accomplished  in  us  until  we  are  raised  to  this 
high,  holy,  and  happy  state,  where  our  peace  flows 
like  a  river,  and  our  righteousness  is  as  the  waves 
of  the  sea. 

In  all  ages  there  has  been  the  most  bitter  op- 
position to  the   doctrine  of  holiness.     There   are 


400  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

many  reasons  for  this.  Holiness,  or  Christian 
perfection,  is  the  most  unrelenting,  untiring,  un- 
compromising, and  poAverful  enemy  the  empire  of 
Satan  has;  hence  he  puts  forth  every  effort  within 
his  power  to  make  the  doctrine  distasteful  to  men, 
in  order  that  he  may  break  its  influence  and  power, 
and  thereby  save  his  own  kingdom  from  wreck 
and  ruin.  In  referring  to  the  doctrine  of  Chris- 
tian perfection,  Mr.  Wesley  says :  ^*  This  is  the 
word  which  God  will  always  bless,  and  which  the 
devil  peculiarly  hates;  therefore  he  is  constantly 
stirring  up  both  his  own  children  and  the  weak 
children  of  God  against  it.'^ 

Another  reason  why  so  many  object  to  the  doc- 
trine of  holiness  is  because  it  is  not  rightly  un- 
derstood. There  are  multitudes  in  the  Church 
who  know  but  little  about  the  doctrine  of  Chris- 
tian perfection,  as  taught  by  John  Wesley,  the 
standard  authors  of  our  Church,  and  the  Bible. 
If  the  doctrine  were  thoroughly  examined,  and 
thoroughly  understood,  I  am  confident  the  objec- 
tions, to  an  extent  at  least,  would  give  way. 

Many  object  to  the  doctrine  because  of  the 
inconsistencies  of  those  who  have  professed  it. 
We  must  admit  that  many  who  have  professed 
holiness  have  not  lived  up  to  their  profession,  and 
that  the  doctrine  has  suffered  very  materially  from 
its  inconsistent  and  unwise  advocates.  Their  pro- 
fession and  their  acts  have  not  been   in   harmony 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.      401 

at  all.  I  think,  however,  that  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  matter  will  convince  any  unprejudiced 
mind  that  the  proportion  of  inconsistent  profes- 
sors of  holiness  is  no  greater  than  the  proportion 
of  inconsistent  professors  of  justification.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  many  in  all  ages,  who  have  pro- 
fessed only  conversion,  have  not  lived  up  to  their 
profession,  and  the  cause  of  religion  has  suffered 
greatly  from  such  inconsistent  professors.  If, 
therefore,  we  discard  the  doctrine  of  Christian 
perfection  because  of  the  inconsistencies  of  many 
who  have  professed  it,  for  the  very  same  reason 
we  must  discard  the  doctrine  of  justification — in 
fact,  for  the  very  same  reason  we  must  discard 
all  religion,  and  take  our  stand  on  the  broad 
platform  of  infi-delity.  Are  we  ready  to  take  this 
rash  step? 

I  do  not  pin  my  faith  to  the  actions  of  any 
man.  No  wise  man,  it  seems,  would  do  such  a 
foolish  thing  as  that.  My  faith  rests  on  God's 
word  alone.  Let  God  be  true,  though  every  man 
may  be  a  liar.  To  the  law,  therefore,  and  to  the 
testimony.  To  the  word  of  God,  and  not  to  the 
actions  of  men  do  we  appeal.  That  Christian 
perfection  is  attainable,  is  proved  to  my  mind 
beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  by  the  many  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  quoted  in  the  forepart  of  this 
chapter. 

While  the  term  "  perfection,"  "  holiness,"  and 
34 


402  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

^^  entire  sanctification '^  each  has  a  shade  of  mean- 
ing peculiar  to  itself,  these  terms  are  all  used  in 
the  Scriptures  interchangeably. 

What  is  Christian  perfection?  To  answer 
this  question  satisfactorily  it  will  be  necessary 
to  treat  the  subject  negatively — to  show  what  it 
is  not;  and  in  showing  what  it  is  not,  we  may 
be  able,  perhaps,  before  we  get  through,  to  show 
what  it  is.  Touching  this  doctrine,  the  ideas  of 
many  are  vague  and  very  much  confused. 

1.  It  is  not  absolute  perfection.  The  highest, 
the  brightest,  the  sweetest,  the  loveliest  angel 
that  ranges  the  fields  of  light  and  glory  is  not 
absolutely  perfect.  Absolute  perfection  belongs 
alone  to  God.  God  is  absolutely  perfect  in  de- 
gree; Christians  are  perfect  in  kind  only. 

2.  It  is  not  angelic  perfection.  Angels  are  a 
higher  order  of  intelligences  than  men.  Angels 
never  make  mistakes,  never  err, .  never  commit 
blunders.  Their  love  burns  with  an  intensity, 
and  their  services  are  performed  with  a  precis- 
ion that  are  not  possible  for  mortals.  They  have 
none  of  the  infirmities  of  fallen  human  nature. 
While  the  sad  effects  of  the  fall  cling  to  these 
bodies  of  ours,  v/e  do  not  claim  that  it  is  possi- 
ble for  us  to  be  as  perfect  as  the  angels  in  heaven. 
But  when  this  corruptible  shall  put  on  incor- 
ruption;  when  this  mortal  shall  put  on  immor- 
tality ;  when  these  bodies,  sown  in  dishonor   and 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.      403 

weakness,  shall  be  raised  in  power  and  glory,  then 
Ave  shall  be  perfect  as  the  angels. 

3.  It  is  not  the  perfection  Adam  had  before 
the  fall.  Before  man  fell,  all  his  faculties  and 
powers  were  perfect.  His  intellectual,  physical, 
and  moral  powers  were  all  complete.  Sin  has 
marred  and  dwarfed  all  these  powers.  With  the 
intellect  marred  and  dwarfed  by  sin,  with  all  the 
physical  powers  impaired  by  evil,  it  is  not  possi- 
ble, since  these  are  the  medium  through  which 
the  soul  now  operates,  to  be  as  perfect  as  if  these 
powers  had  never  suffered  from  sin.  So  it  is  not 
claimed,  nor  does  the  Bible  promise  the  perfection 
Adum  had  before  the  fall.  We  must  be  content, 
therefore,  with  the  perfection  taught  us  in  God^s 
Word.  And  God's  Word  does  not  promise  to  us 
absolute  perfection,  nor  angelic  perfection,  nor 
Adamic  perfection,  but  Christian  perfection. 

4.  It  is  not  a  perfection  of  the  head.  No- 
where in  all  the  range  of  God's  Word  is  there  a 
single  promise  that  God  will  make  us  perfect  in 
judgment.  The  only  perfection  promised  in  the 
Bible  is  the  perfection  of  love.  Mr.  Wesley 
says :  "Another  ground  of  these  and  a  thousand 
mistakes  is  the  not  considering  deeply  that  love  is 
the  highest  gift  of  God.  There  is  nothing  higher 
in  religion — there  is,  in  effect,  nothing  else.'' 
Christian  perfection  is  the  loving  God  with  all 
the  heart,  and  all  the  soul,  and  all  the  mind,  and 


404  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

all  the  strength.  This  is  the  highest  spiritual 
mountain-peak  that  can  be  gained  here  on  the 
earth. 

5.  Christian  perfection  does  not  imply  a  fault- 
less life.  We  are  commanded  to  be  blameless,  but 
not  faultless.  A  simple  incident  will  illustrate  this  : 
A  mother  gave  to  her  little  girl  a  handkerchief 
to  hem.  She  gave  the  child  a  needle,  thread, 
and  thimble,  and  gave  her  directions  how  the 
work  should  be  done.  The  child  followed  the 
mother's  directions  as  near  as  she  possibly  could. 
She  did  her  very  best  to  do  just  as  the  mother 
told  her.  When  the  work  was  finished  she  took 
it  to  her  mother.  The  mother  examined  it. 
Some  of  the  stitches  were  long  and  some  of  them 
were  short;  some  places  the  hem  was  wide,  and 
at  other  places  it  was  narrow,  and  at  other  places 
it  was  badly  puckered.  The  work  was  not  fault- 
less, but  the  child  was  blameless.  She  had  gone 
according  to  the  mother's  directions  as  near  as 
possible,  and  had  done  the  very  best  she  could. 
The  mother  gave  the  child  a  smile  of  approval 
and  a  kiss  of  affection.  With  all  the  divine  grace 
it  is  possible  for  us  to  have,  we  shall  not  be  fault- 
less, but  we  may  be  blameless.  If  we  go  accord- 
ing to  God's  directions  just  as  near  as  we  possi- 
bly can,  though  our  acts  may  be  very  far  from 
being  faultless,  we  shall  have  the  divine  smile  of 
approval  and  the   infinite  kiss  of  atfection   from 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.      405 

our  loving  Heavenly  Father.  We  shall  be  liable  to 
make  mistakes,  commit  errors,  and  make  blun- 
ders as  long  as  we  live  in  a  body  marred  and 
dwarfed  by  sin.  An  error  in  judgment  may  lead 
to  an  error  in  act.  God  goes  back  of  the  act  to 
the  motive  that  prompted  the  act.  It  is  the  in- 
tent that  makes  the  crime.  A  man  may  be  a 
murderer  without  ever  having  taken  the  life  of 
a  fellow-being.  He  may  have  desired  to  do  so  ; 
and  that  constitutes  the  crime.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  may  have  actually  taken  the  life  of  a  man, 
and  still  not  be  a  murderer.  He  may  have  ac- 
cidentally taken  the  life  of  his  fellow-being. 
Hence  Christ  says :  "  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not 
judged."  The  Bible  nowhere  promises  us  a  per- 
fection that  will  free  us  from  mistakes.  While 
Christian  perfection  does  not  admit  of  any  sin, 
inward  or  outward,  properly  so  called,  it  does 
admit  of  a  consciousness  of  infirmities  and  short- 
comings. The  purest  persons  that  walk  the  earth 
are  conscious  of  mistakes,  shortcomings,  and  great 
weaknesses.  These  they  often  deplore  in  the 
deepest  humility.  These  innocent  mistakes  and 
infirmities  all  need  the  blood  of  atonement,  and 
we  rejoice  and  praise  God  that  the  blood  of  atone- 
ment covers  them  all,  and  more  than  meets  every 
demand.  Christian  perfection  admits  of  many 
infirmities,  but  not  one  sin. 

6.  It  is  not  freedom  from  temptation.     If  you 


406  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

expect  to  be  saved  from  temptation  in  this  life, 
you  are  expecting  something  you  will  never  real- 
ize. The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  Lord. 
If  it  were  possible  for  us  to  reach  a  point  where 
we  could  not  be  tempted,  we  should  be  greater 
than  our  Lord  was.  "  He  was  tempted  in  all 
points  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin.''  It  is 
no  sin  to  be  tempted.  The  sin  lies  in  our  yield- 
ing to  the  temptation.  Mr.  Dow  says:  "We 
can  not  prevent  the  buzzards  flying  over  our 
heads,  but  we  can  keep  them  from  making  nests 
in  our  hair." 

Here  on  earth  is  the  battle-field ;  here  we  are 
waging  a  warfare.  Can  there  be  war  without 
conflict?  Can  there  be  conflict  without  enemies? 
Of  all  persons  on  the  earth,  those  who  are  the  most 
holy  are  the  most  exposed  to  temptation.  Those 
who  are  the  most  holy  are  placed  in  the  front 
of  the  battle.  God  has  chosen  them  as  his  van- 
guard. They  are  the  ones  who  make  assaults 
upon  the  enemy.  If  they  are  in  the  front,  and 
lead  in  the  charge,  they  are,  more  than  any  oth- 
ers, exposed  to  the  fiery  missiles  of  the  foe.  At 
the  pure  Satan  will  hurl  his  sharpest  arrows. 
Against  them  he  will  level  his  heaviest  artillery. 
One  holy  person  cast  down  is  better  for  the 
empire  of  Satan  than  a  whole  regiment  of  ordi- 
nary Christians.  One  who  is  now  in  heaven 
once  said  :  "As   certain  as  night  follows  day,  so 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.      407 

certain  will  the  black  angel  persecution  follow 
holiness."  A  man  who  had  recently  come  into 
the  experience  of  perfect  love,  under  the  minis- 
trations of  Rev.  Mr.  Caughey,  the  great  evan- 
gelist, went  to  him  and  said  :  "  I  do  n't  under- 
stand this.  I  never  had  such  severe  temptations 
in  my  life  as  I  have  had  since  I  received  this 
blessing."  "  O,"  said  Mr.  Caughey,  "  that  is  not 
at  all  strange.  It  takes  ten  devils  to  watch  you 
now,  where  it  took  only  one  when  you  were  in 
a  weak  and  sickly  state."  The  less  religion 
Christians  have,  the  less  trouble  they  have  with 
Satan.  Satan  is  satisfied  with  weak,  worldly- 
minded  Christians,  and  seldom  troubles  them. 
If  we  have  no  severe  temptations  we  may  well 
suspect  the  genuineness  of  our  religion.  A  man 
once  said  :  "I  am  opposed  to  revivals  on  princi- 
ple." Another  one  said :  *'  I  am  opposed  to  this 
doctrine  of  holiness."  Are  not  such  men  sound 
asleep?  The  devil  can  do  almost  anything  with 
a  man  when  he  gets  him  fast  asleep.  A  man 
once  dreamed  he  was  traveling,  and  came  to  a 
little  church,  and  on  the  cupola  of  that  church 
was  a  devil  fast  asleep.  He  went  on  a  little  fur- 
ther and  he  came  to  a  log  cabin,  and  it  was 
surrounded  by  devils,  all  wide  awake.  He  was 
surprised,  and  asked  for  an  explanation.  One 
of  the  little  imps  said  :  "  I  will  tell  you.  The 
fact  is,  that  whole  Church    back  there  is  asleep. 


408  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

and  one  devil  can  take  care  of  all  the  members 
and  sleep  at  the  same  time;  but  here  in  this 
cabin  are  two  holy,  wide-awake  persons,  a  man 
and  woman,  and  they  have  more  influence  and 
power  than  that  whole  Church/'  The  greater  the 
effort  put  forth  on  the  part  of  the  Christian  to 
Jive  near  God  and  save  souls,  the  greater  will 
be  the  effort  on  the  part  of  Satan  to  hedge  up 
his  way  and  thwart  all  his  commendable  plans. 
Every  step  we  take  from  here  to  the  throne  of 
God  will  be  hotly  contested  by  the  devil. 

Then  God  will  have  a  tried  people.  Job  said  : 
''When  he  hath  tried  me  I  shall  come  forth  as 
gold."  (Job  xxiii,  10.)  David  said:  ''Thou,  O 
God,  hast  proved  us ;  thou  hast  tried  us,  as  silver 
is  tried.''  (Psa.  Ixvi,  10.)  Solomon  says :  "  The 
fining  pot  is  for  silver,  and  the  furnace  for  gold; 
but  the  Lord  trieth  the  hearts."  (Prov.  xvii,  3.) 
God  said  of  his  ancient  people  :  "  I  have  chosen  thee 
m  the  furnace  of  affliction."  (Isa.  xlviii,  10.)  "  I 
will  refine  them  as  silver  is  refined,  and  will  try 
them  as  gold  is  tried;  they  shall  call  on  my 
name,  and  I  will  hear  them."  (Zech.  xiii,  9.) 
James  says :  "  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth 
temptation ;  for  when  he  is  tried  he  shall  receive 
the  crown  of  life."  (James  i,  12.)  He  does  not 
say  blessed  is  the  man  that  has  temptation,  but 
blessed  is  the  man  that  endures,  that  stands  firm, 
is   loyal    to    God     during    the    fiery    temptation. 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.     409 

That  man  will  at  last  receive  a  crown,  before 
the  beauty  and  splendor  of  which  the  crowns  of 
the  kings  and  emperors  of  earth  will  pale  and 
sink  into  utter  insignificance. 

It  is  said  that  Napoleon  once  ordered  a  coat 
of  mail.  When  the  artisan  completed  it,  he  deliv- 
ered it  to  the  emperor.  The  emperor  ordered 
him  to  put  it  on  himself.  Then  Napoleon  drew 
his  large  navy  revolver  and  fired  shot  after  shot 
at  the  man  in  the  armor.  It  stood  the  severe 
test,  and  the  artisan  received  from  Napoleon  a 
large  reward.  So  if  we  stand  the  severe  tests 
that  will  be  applied  to  us  here,  great  will  be  our 
reward  hereafter. 

God^s  method  with  his  children  here  is  found 
in  Daniel,  twelfth  chapter  and  tenth  verse :  "  Many 
shall  be  purified,  and  made  white  and  tried." 
That  is  God^s  method.  Purified,  made  white, 
then  tried.  Many  are  purified,  but  when  the  tests 
are  applied  give  way. 

"A  few  mornings  ago,"  said  a  lady,  "  I  placed 
a  clean,  white  platter  in  the  stove-baker,  to  warm 
it.  By  accident  the  door  was  closed,  and  the  dish 
became  very  hot.  When  I  removed  it  a  scum  of 
grease  had  covered  nearly  the  whole  surface. 
The  heat  had  brought  it  out.  I  was  surprised  to 
see  so  much  filth  on  what  had  appeared  a  per- 
fectly clean,  white  platter.  I  wondered  if  such  a 
scum  of  sin  would  come  to  the  surface  if  I  should 
35 


410  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

be  tried  as  by  fire.  What  a  state  that  must  be, 
when  no  spot  will  appear,  though  a  white  heat  is 
applied  to  bring  out  the  defects  !'' 

7.  Christian  perfection  is  not  regeneration. 
It  is  a  state  of  grace  above  and  beyond  conver- 
sion. Paul  said  to  the  Christians  at  Corinth: 
"And  I,  brethren,  could  not  speak  unto  you  as 
unto  spiritual,  but  as  unto  babes  in  Christ.  I 
have  fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat ;  for  hith- 
erto ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it,  neither  yet  are 
ye  now  able.  For  ye  are  yet  carnal :  for  whereas 
there  is  among  you  envying,  and  strife,  and  di- 
visions, are  ye  not  carnal  ?"  (1  Cor.  iii,  1,  2,  3.) 
"  Having,  therefore,  these  promises,  dearly  be- 
loved, let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  fil thin  ess 
of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting  holiness  in  the 
fear  of  God.''     (2  Cor.  vii,  1.) 

Christian  perfection  is  the  perfecting,  the  com- 
pleting, of  the  work  which  was  begun  at  conver- 
sion. To  the  Church  at  Rome,  Paul  said:  "I 
beseech  you,  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies 
of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sac- 
rifice, holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  your 
reasonable  service.''  (Rom.  xii,  1.)  And  to  the 
Christians  at  Thessalonica  he  said :  "  The  very 
God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly;  and  I  pray 
God  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body  be  pre- 
served blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."     (1  Thess.  v,   23.)     Be  it  remem- 


•      DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.     411 

bered  that  the  faith  of  these  Thessalonian  Chris- 
tians had  been  spread  abroad  '^  in  every  place  ^' 
throughout  all  "  Macedonia  and  Achaia."  They 
were  noted  everywhere  for  their  faith  and  good 
works,  and  yet  Paul  prayed  that  they  might  be 
wholly  sanctified.  All  the  above  exhortations 
were  given  to  Christians,  showing  very  clearly 
that  the  work  of  entire  sanctification  had  not  been 
accomplished  in  them.  They  were  not  made  per- 
fect in  love ;  but  their  great  privilege  was  clearly 
set  before  them,  and  they  were  earnestly  exhorted 
to  avail  themselves  of  their  high  privilege. 

"  But,"  says  one,  "  is  not  God  able  to  convert 
and  wholly  sanctify  the  soul  at  the  same  time  ?'' 
Most  assuredly  he  is.  But  it  is  not  a  question  of 
God^s  ability  at  all,  but  of  our  faith.  We  are 
justified  by  faith.  We  are  also  sanctified  by  faith. 
Paul,  in  his  discourse  before  Agrippa,  says  we 
"  are  sanctified  by  faith.''  (Acts  xxvi,  18.)  Dr. 
Adam  Clarke,  in  commenting  on  this  verse,  says 
we  are  taught,  "  not  only  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
but  the  purification  of  the  heart." 

We  get  just  what  we  believe  for.  "  What 
things  soever  ye  desire  when  ye  pray,  believe 
that  ye  receive  them,  and  ye  shall  have  them." 
(Mark  xi,  24.)  When  faith  is  genuine  it  is  al- 
ways distinct,  and  is  put  forth  for  a  particular 
object.  A  very  common  question  with  our  Lord 
was :  "  Believe  ye  that  I  am   able   to   do   this  ?" 


412  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

Blind  Bartimeus  cried  out  to  the  Savior,  saying: 
"  Jesus,  thou  son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  me. 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  What  wilt 
thou  that  I  do  unto  thee?  "The  blind  man  said 
unto  him,  Lord  that  I  might  receive  my  sight. 
And  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Go  thy  way;  thy  faith 
hath  made  thee  whole.  And  immediately  he  re- 
ceived his  sight,  and  followed  Jesus  in  the  way.'' 
(Mark  x,  51,  52.)  He  got  just  what  he  believed 
for — eyesight.  The  leper  said  to  Jesus :  "  Lord, 
if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me  clean."  This 
was  his  faith.  Jesus  said:  "I  will;  be  thou 
clean.  And  immediately  his  leprosy  was  cleansed." 
(Matt,  viii,  2,  3.)  He  received  just  what  he  be- 
lieved for — cleansing. 

A  father  went  to  the  Savior  with  his  son  pos- 
sessed with  a  dumb  spirit.  That  father  felt  only 
as  a  father  could  feel  under  such  circumstances. 
His  own  loved  boy  Avas  under  the  complete 
power  and  control  of  the  devil.  How  his  heart 
must  have  bled  with  grief  at  every  pore!  Many 
a  parent's  heart  bleeds  to-day  because  a  son  is 
under  the  complete  power  of  Satan.  With  the 
deepest  anguish  of  heart  the  father  cried  out : 
"  If  thou  canst  do  anything,  have  compassion  on 
us,  and  help  us.  Jesus  said  unto  him.  If  thou 
canst  believe;  all  things  are  possible  to  him  that 
believeth."  The  father  exclaimed  :  "  Lord,  I  be- 
lieve; help  thou  mine  unbelief.     And  the  spirit 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.      413 

came  out  of  him."  (Mark  ix,  23-25.)  He  ob- 
tained just  what  he  believed  for — the  deliverance 
of  his  son  from  the  possession  of  a   dumb   devil. 

The  Syrophenician  woman  believed  for  the 
deliverance  of  her  daughter  from  the  power  of 
the  "  unclean  spirit,"  and  she  received  just  what 
she  believed  for.  The  faith  of  all  these  persons 
was  put  forth  for  a  distinct  object,  and  they  all 
received  that  for  which  they  believed. 

The  blind  man  believed  for  eyesight,  and  re- 
ceived it.  The  leper  believed  for  cleansing,  and 
received  it.  The  father  believed  for  the  deliver- 
ance of  his  son  from  the  possession  of  the  dumb 
devil,  and  the  son  was  saved.  The  mother  be- 
lieved for  the  deliverance  of  her  daughter  from 
the  unclean  spirit,  and  the  daughter  was  rescued 
from  his  toils,  restored,  and  made  pure.  To-day, 
as  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  we  get  just  what 
we  believe  for.  If  we  believe  for  pardon,  we  get 
pardon.  If  we  believe  for  perfect  love,  we  get 
perfect  love.  If  we  believe  for  the  anointing  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  qualify  us  for  work,  we  receive 
the  anointing.  If  the  penitent  at  the  altar,  seek- 
ing pardon,  could  believe  for  pardon  and  entire 
sanctification  at  the  same  time,  I  believe  he  would 
receive  both.  But  I  have  never  known  one  who, 
at  that  moment,  could  grasp  all.  Mr.  R.  P. 
Smith,  in  his  "  Holiness  Through  Faith,"  relates 
the  following :  "  While  addressing  a  company  in 


414  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

one  of  the  mission-houses  in  New  York,  I  no- 
ticed a  young  woman  much  affected.  I  found 
after  meeting  she  was  an  actress,  who  had  been 
brought  to  the  point  of  turning  her  back  on  all 
her  past  life ;  but  she  was  unable  to  believe  that 
such  a  sinner  as  she  was  could  receive  the  grace 
that  was  set  before  her.  To  my  explanation  of 
the  divine  sacrifice  for  sinners,  she  only  ex- 
claimed :  ^  O  yes,  sir ;  I  know  that  it  is  all  true, 
but  I  can't  believe  that  it  is  for  meP  It  seemed 
too  great  presumption  for  her  to  believe  that  all 
her  sins  were  blotted  out,  and  she  at  once  placed 
in  the  family  of  God.  I  left  her  in  this  con- 
dition of  mind — longing  for  salvation,  and  yet 
too  faithless  to  believe  that  it  was  for  her. 

"  Upon  parting  with  the  actress,  I  was  intro- 
duced to  a  refined,  matronly,  Christian  woman, 
who,  I  understood,  was  giving  her  life  to  this 
gospel  work  among  the  abandoned.  Her  whole 
heart  w^as  in  her  work  with  an  energy  and  sim- 
plicity that  I  have  never  seen  surpassed.  Her 
joy  was  to  spend  her  years  in  the  midst  of 
this  moral  leprosy,  raising  the  cross  among  the 
dying  souls  around  her.  But  even  while  thus 
laboring  for  Christ,  she  felt  most  deeply  her  need 
of  some  privilege  greatly  beyond  her  present  ex- 
perience. So  in  earnest  was  she  that  she  had 
just  passed  a  Meepless  night  of  sorrow  and  prayer 
for  the   full  and  satisfying   revelation  of  Christ, 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.      415 

with  the  complete  victory  over  her  own  will. 
She  knew  that  her  sins  had  been  forgiven  her, 
and  that  she  truly  loved  Jesus.  Work  for  Jesus 
was  the  most  delightful  thing  in  the  world  to  her. 
She  knew  that  there  was  in  the  gospel  a  redemp- 
tion ^from  all  iniquity/  but  she  had  not  found  it. 
She  knew  that  Christ  bore  her  sins  that  she 
might  become  dead  to  sin  and  alive  to  righteous- 
ness ;  but  she  had  not  attained  to  it.  The  secret 
of  this  unsupplied  need  was  soon  found.  Full 
of  faith  for  God's  work  in  others,  and  up  to  a 
certain  point  in  herself,  she  needed  to  open  the 
door  of  her  heart  yet  more  widely  that  the  King 
of  Glory  might  come  in.  This  dear  saint,  who 
had  so  often  taught  the  lesson  to  anxious  sinners 
of  faith  as  the  means  of  blessing,  now  saw  that 
l:he  very  same  lesson  was  to  be  learned  by  her- 
self upon  a  different  level.  The  very  words  that 
a  few  moments  before  had  been  said  to  the 
awakened  actress — trust  in  Christ  for  what  her 
soul  felt  the  need  of — were  now  .  to  be  applied  to 
herself.  Shortly  after  this  interview,  the  actress 
found  Christ,  through  faith,  pardon  for  all  her 
sins;  and  the  missionary,  upon  her  high  level  of 
Christian  experience,  also  found  in  Christ,  through 
faith,  cleansing  ^  from  all  unrighteousness.' 
Faith  in  each  grasped  the  promise."  Each  re- 
ceived just  what  she  needed,  and  just  what  she 
believed  for.     From  the  very   beginning  to  the 


416  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  OLAD. 

highest  summit  of  Christian  attainment,  faith  is 
the  channel  of  God's  blessing,  while  unbelief  is 
the  bar.  "So  much  faith,  so  much  deliverance; 
no  more,  no  less  !  If  we  would  live  up  to  the 
gospel  standard  of  holiness,  we  must  believe  up 
to  the  gospel  standard  of  faith."  Christian  per- 
fection is  a  soul  made  perfect  in  love.  A  soul 
made  perfect  in  love  is  a  soul  perfectly  pure.  A 
soul  perfectly  pure  is  a  soul  cleansed  from  all  sin, 
inbred  or  birth  sin,  and  actual  sin.  If  you  desire 
that  perfect  cleansing,  believe  for  it  and  you  will 
have  it. 

8.  Christian  perfection  does  not  imply  that  we 
can  not  fall. 

If  "  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate, 
but  left  their  own  habitation,''  fell  into  sin,  and  are 
"  reserved  in  everlasting  chains,  under  darkness, 
unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day ;"  if  Adam 
in  paradise  fell ;  if  Solomon,  the  best  and  wisest 
man  that  ever  lived,  fell, — we  need  not  expect  that 
we  shall  become  so  holy  that  we  can  not  fall. 
The  very  highest  possible  state  of  grace  attainable 
in  this  life  will  not  exempt  us  from  danger.  So 
it  becomes  necessary  for  us  to  say  to  the  purest 
men  and  women  that  walk  the  earth  : 

**  O  watch,  and  fight,  and  pray ; 
The  battle  ne'er  give  o'er; 
Renew  it  boldly  every  day, 
And  help  divine  implore. 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.     417 

Ne'er  think  the  victory  won, 

Nor  lay  thine  armor  down  ; 
The  tvork  of  faith  will  not  be  done 

Till  thou  obtain  the  crown." 

9.  Christian  perfection  is  not  maturity.  Pu- 
rity is  one  thing,  and  maturity  is  another.  They 
are  just  as  distinct  as  day  and  night.  Many 
jumble  the  two  together.  Christian  perfection  is 
purity.  Purity  is  freedom  from  sin,  and  is  the 
result  of  God's  extirpating  power.  Maturity  is 
the  result  of  growth,  and  takes  time.  Purity  is 
a  work  wrought  in  the  heart  instantaneously  by 
the  power  of  God.  Maturity,  being  the  result  of 
growth,  is  gradual,  and  may  go  on  indefinitely. 

Some  think  if  they  are  sanctified  wholly,  they 
can  never  grow  any  more,  when  in  fact  they  are 
just  prepared  to  grow  rapidly.  Purity  removes 
from  the  heart  that  which  hinders  growth.  In- 
born sin  is  a  hindrance  to  growth,  just  as  weeds 
in  the  field  are  a  hindrance  to  the  growth  of  the 
corn.  Remove  the  weeds,  and  the  corn  will  grow 
more  rapidly.  Remove  all  sin  from  the  heart, 
and  you  will  grow  in  grace  more  rapidly  than 
ever.  Let  the  cleansing  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  be 
applied  to  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  you 
will  receive  an  impetus  that  will  send  you  on 
your  heavenly  way  with  a  speed  that  you  never 
dreamed  of  before. 

We  are  commanded  to  '^grow   in  grace,'*  but 


418  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

not  into  grace.  Grace  must  first  be  imparted 
before  there  can  be  growth.  As  in  nature,  so  in 
grace ;  first  life,  then  growth.  Pardan  is  by  faith, 
and  is  instantaneous.  God  does  not  pardon 
gradually.  When  God  pardons  a  soul,  it  is  a 
perfect  work.  All  actual  sin  is  forgiven,  and 
will  be  remembered  against  that  soul  no  more 
forever;  and  that  work  is  done  in  an  instant, 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  After  pardon,  then 
we  may  grow.  Entire  sanctification  is  by  faith, 
and  is  instantaneous,  just  as  pardon  is. 

A  few  years  ago  the  wife  of  a  distinguished 
minister  was  lying  hopelessly  ill.  All  Avas  mist 
and  uncertainty  before  her.  She  longed  for  the 
purity  and  peace  promised  in  the  holy  Word, 
but  her  husband  had  always  preached  a  gradual 
growth  in  grace,  and  completeness  in  Christ  only 
at  death,  and  she  waited  for  that  hour  in  dread 
uncertainty.  "  O  that  I  could  have  complete  de- 
liverance from  sin  now,  before  that  fearful  hour  V* 
she  exclaimed.  "Why  not?"  the  Spirit  sug- 
gested. She  sent  for  her  husband,  and  as  he  en- 
tered her  sick  chamber,  she  anxiously  inquired : 
"  Can  Christ  save  me  from  all  sin."  "  Yes ;  he  is 
an  almighty  Savior,  your  Savior,  able  to  save  to 
the  uttermost."  "  When  can  he  save  me  ?  You 
have  often  said  that  he  saves  from  all  sin  at  the 
dying    moment.       If  he  is  Almighty ^  do  n't   you 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.      419 

think  he  could  save  me  a  few  minutes  before 
death  ?  It  would  take  the  sting  of  death  away  to 
know  that  I  am  saved.''  "  Yes ;  I  think  he 
could."  "  Well,  if  he  could  save  me  a  few  min- 
utes before  death,  do  n't  you  believe  it  possible 
for  him  to  save  a  few  hours,  or  a  day  before 
death  ?"  The  husband  bowed  his  assent.  "  But," 
she  said,  with  deep  emotion  and  great  earnest- 
ness, "  I  may  live  a  week,  or  a  month ;  do  you 
think  it  possible  for  God  to  save  a  soul  from  all 
sin  so  long  before  death?"  "Yes;  all  things 
are  possible  with  God,"  he  answered  with  deep 
emotion.  "  Then  kneel  right  down  here  and 
pray  for  me.  I  want  this  full  salvation  now, 
and  if  I  live  a  month,  I  will  live  to  praise  God." 

He  knelt  beside  her  bed,  and  offered  a  prayer 
such  as  he  had  never  offered  before,  and  while  he 
prayed  the  cleansing  blood  that  makes  whiter 
than  snow  w^as  applied  to  her  soul,  and  she  was 
enabled  to  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory.  She  lived  a  month  afterwards  to  mag- 
nify the  grace  of  God,  and  testify  to  that  perfect 
love  that  casteth  out  fear.  From  the  grave  of 
his  wife  that  husband  went  forth  to  preach  Christ 
as  a  present  Savior,  able  to  save  from  all  sin. 

A  wholly  sanctified  soul  is  just  as  pure  a  mo- 
ment after  the  cleansing  blood  is  applied  as  the 
soul  of  the  man  who  has  been  wholly  sanctified 


420  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD. 

for  twenty  years.  But  the  man  who  has  been 
walking  for  twenty  years  under  the  cleansing 
blood,  has  an  experience  deeper,  wider,  richer, 
and  far  more  extensive  than  the  man  who  has  just 
been  fully  saved.  The  diiference  is  not  in  quality 
but  in  quantity.  A  drop  of  water  may  be  just 
as  pure  as  an  ocean,  but  there  is  more  in  the  ocean 
than  in  the  drop.  A  soul  cleansed  of  all  sin  is 
prepared  to  grow  more  rapidly  than  ever. 

When  crossing  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains 
in  1850,  after  traveling  for  some  time,  we  reached 
a  point  whej"e  Ave  supposed  we  saw  the  summit. 
A  lofty  mountain-peak  rose  in  solitary  grandeur 
before  us.  We  said,  and  we  rejoiced  at  the  sight, 
'^  There  is  the  summit."  We  started  up  the 
rough  mountain-side,  and  after  traveling  for  some 
three  hours  reached  its  summit.  But  to  our  sur- 
prise, and  not  a  little  disappointment,  we  saw  rising 
far  away  above  and  beyond  us  another  mountain- 
peak.  We  said  :  "  Well,  we  thought  this  was  the 
summit,  but  were  very  much  mistaken.  That 's 
the  summit  away  up  there."  We  started,  and 
after  several  hours  of  weary  travel,  we  at  length 
reached  this  mountain  summit.  But  to  our  utter 
disappointment  and  astonishment  we  saw  rising 
before  us,  higher  up,  and  farther  away,  another 
mountain-peak.  We  made  no  more  predictions. 
Again,  after  a  short  rest,  we  started,  and  after 
plodding  through  slush  and  snow  for  near  a  half 


DISTINCTIVE  DOCTRINE  EXAMINED.      421 

a  day,  reached  this  mountain  summit.  Then  away 
above  and  beyond  us  rose  another.  Mountain-peak 
rose  above  mountain-peak,  higher,  and  higher,  and 
higher.  And  thus  it  is  with  the  religion  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  if  we  live  up  to  all  the  light 
God  gives  us. 

The  Christian's  pathway  to  the  skies  is  an 
ascending  pathway.  Mountain-peak  of  joy  and 
knowledge  in  divine  things  rises  above  mountain- 
peak,  higher,  and  higher,  and  higher.  Our  ex- 
perience may  grow  deeper,  and  wider,  and  richer, 
and  grander.  We  go  from  a  justified  soul  to  a 
soul  made  perfect  in  love,  from  a  soul  made  per- 
fect in  love  to  a  soul  glorified  in  body  and  spirit ; 
then  onward  and  upward,  forever  and  ever. 

10.  Perfect  love  is  not  simply  ecstasy.  It  is 
not  simply  a  bubbling  up  of  joy,  overflowing  the 
soul  with  rapturous  delight.  It  is,  however,  al- 
ways peace,  always  rest  of  soul,  and  sometimes 
the  great  tidal  waves  of  joy  roll  over  the  heart, 
deluging  the  whole  soul,  and  filling  it  with  an 
unearthly  rapture. 

It  is  not  always  liberty  in  prayer,  or  in  testi- 
mony, or  in  preaching.  So  if  we  do  not  always 
have  great  ecstasy,  or  great  liberty  in  prayer  or 
testimony  or  preaching,  we  are  not  to  conclude 
that  we  are  not  saved.  Christian  perfection  is 
not  ecstasy,  but  purity ;  and  we  obtain  purity,  not 
by  feeling,  but  simple  faith  in  Christ. 


422  SOLITARY  PLACES  MADE  GLAD, 

"  0  for  a  faith  that  will  not  shrink, 
Though  pressed  by  every  foe, 
That  will  not  tremble  on  the  brink 
Of  any  earthly  woe  1 

A  faith  that  shines  more  bright  and  clear 

When  tempests  rage  without ; 
That  when  in  danger  knows  no  fear, 

In  darkness  feels  no  doubt!" 

Unconditional  surrender  of  all  to  Christ,  and 
unshaken  faith  in  his  ability  and  willingness  to 
save  to  the  uttermost  now,  this  very  moment,  will 
bring  to  the  heart  the  consciousness  of  this  great 
salvation.  May  every  reader  of  these  pages  have 
this  sweet,  rich,  glowing,  and  abiding  experience ! 


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